Blue Eyes
by Sparks101
Summary: During the Wyvern Moon, Jeralt would accept a contract from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus to help protect its citizens from Great Wolves and other such creatures, this would allow his daughter Byleth and Prince Dimitri to build a strong friendship that lasted through all of life hardships that were thrown at them.
1. Chapter 1

So, I have read two different AU where Byleth meets either Dimitri or Claude when they were children and they have inspired me to write my own.

The Dimitri's story is called "The Boar's Liege" written by Tacticiangirl.

Claude's story is called "A Million Dreams" written by doylesmom

Both can be found on Archive Of Our Own and they are much better stories than mine so I would recommend checking them out first before reading my dinky, little story.

Before I let you get to the story, two little of my head cannon's might need a little more explanation before you read.

One, Jeralt is afraid of the church finding him and taking his daughter so he a bit on the paranoid side.

Two, Crest appear as a mark on a person skin after their first awakening.

At the start of the story Byleth is 10 and Dimitri is 6 going on 7.

Alright that's the end of my notes, on wards to the story.

* * *

**Wyvern Moon Year 1170:**

The start of the Red Wolf Moon month was the beginning of the season when Giant Wolves and other great beast become more aggressive in a desperate attempt to find food. To better ensure the safety of its citizens the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus had decided to hirer mercenaries to better combat such threats. The Jeralt mercenaries had been selected to help defend the capital city given their leader's reputation.

Just outside the castle's walls a large, muscular man waited with a young girl, with short blue grey hair. The man stared at the closed gate before him with his lips tightly pressed into a thin line. The girl, on the other hand, stared at everything before her, absorbing her new surroundings. Her expression never showed a hint of her curiosity. Eventually her eyes landed on the man and she gripped his hand, drawing his attention to her.

"Hey kid," he said smiling down at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes never leaving his.

"Nothing." His smile became strained and she continued to stare up at him. A sigh escaped him, and he picked her up, resting her on one of his arms. "Fhirdiad gets pretty cold in the winter. Are you sure you are going to be okay?"

She nodded at him. "You bought me my new coat, remember?" She pulled on her coat's collar to emphasize her point. Another sigh escaped him, he was about to say something when the gates opened, and a guard stepped out. He put his daughter down but made sure to hold her hand.

"Sorry for the wait Sir Jeralt-" the guard was able to say more before he was interrupted.

"Just Jeralt." Another sigh escaped him.

"Oh right, sorry. It took a while to verify the contract, but everything is in order you and your daughter now have permission to enter." With that said the gates were finally opened and the guard started walking forward to lead the two newcomers. Jeralt's lips tightened into a thin line again and he gripped his daughter's hand tightly, but she didn't seem to mind.

They followed the guard in for a bit before he stopped to talk with another soldier. The castle's walls might have been impressive but inside was a completely different story. The young girl's eyes took everything in as she inspected any person that crossed her line of sight and at all the hedges that were cut into interesting shapes and sizes, spurring on her curiosity more. She would have left to explore if it wasn't for her father's grip.

Feeling eyes on her, she whipped her head around to find the source, a bit away, in a gazebo tucked in behind some shrubbery she was able to spot a young boy, who quickly hide behind the pillar he was peaking behind from. Without thinking she took a step forward but a tug on her hand halted her. She looked up at her father that was watching the soldiers talking. She pulled at his hand, until he finally looked at her.

"Can I please go exploring?" she asked glancing back at the pillar and noticed the boy was peeking out again.

Jeralt followed her gaze before turning back to her. "I don't think-" he was able to say before it was his turn to be interrupted by the guard.

"It's alright, she may explore," the guard said before turning his attention onto her, "but you must stay in the gardens okay?" She nodded and he smiled at her before returning to his conversation.

"Kid," her father said, and she turned to face him and discovered that he had bent down so that he could be eye level with her. When he spoke again it was whisper that was only loud enough for her to hear, "now remember if you see any priest or people with this symbol," he paused to maneuver his neck so that she could see the symbol on it, "you run away, you got that?" The symbol had reminded her of a leaf with a line through its stem. Despite her father's best attempts, she could never see it as a bad symbol, because she always saw it as her father's. She especially liked it when it glowed right when her father did a particularly powerful attack. Once she nodded, he let go of her hand and she was about to take off before he spoke again. "Once the negotiations are done, we will return to the inn, okay?" She nodded at him again before she left.

She ran straight to the gazebo and startled the boy causing him to fall onto his bottom. Pale, blue eyes stared up at her and she was left more speechless than she normally was. She didn't realize eyes could be such a pretty color. She extended her hand out to the blond boy, he stared at it a bit before he eventually placed his hand in hers and she pulled him up.

"Hello," she greeted but he was silent. She rested her hands on her knuckles and folded her arms over her chest. She knew there were more to greetings, but she didn't know what to say. She never had to greet someone before, her father always did it and she only ever had to do was a simple nod or say hello, but she didn't know what else to do after that.

"Excuse me?" the meek voice broke her out of her thoughts. She looked at the boy, who had his hands clasped over his stomach, he quickly looked down. His hair fell into his face, shielding his eyes from her and she didn't like; briefly she debated on whether or not she should push his hair aside but decided against it.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something? I was distracted."

"Oh um, I said my name was Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd." He looked up at her or more accurately her chin.

"Blaidid?"

"Blaiddyd."

"Blaydd?"

"Blaiddyd." She was going to try and pronounce his name again, but he stopped her. "You can just call me Dimitri."

She nodded. "Dimitri is a lot easier to say."

"What is your name?" he asked, now looking into her eyes. "Oh, that is if you do not mind me asking." He was quick to add.

"Byleth Eisner." He repeated her name and smiled. "But everyone calls me Kid."

"Kid? Is that not a little weird? Oh, I do not mean to be rude! I am sorry!"

She shook her head. "No, you're right. It is weird. You can call me something else if you want."

It was his turn to shake his head, but he did it with much more force than she had previously done. "No! If your friends call you that than," his voice started to trail off into a quiet whisper, "I would like to call you that too."

She rested her hand on her knuckles. The only ones who called her kid were her father and his mercenary group, were they her friends? Her father wasn't, of course, but she wasn't sure if friend was the right term, she would describe the other mercenaries. She broke her train of thought when she noticed his bright blue eyes staring at her. Nodding her approval at the nickname he smiled at her. A warm feeling settled in her stomach but before she could dwell on what it was, he was talking to her.

"So Kid, is this your first time at the castle?" She nodded yes. "Then let me show you around!" he grabbed her hand and began to lead her away. Her eyes drifted away from where they were heading and onto their hands. His hands were so tiny and smooth compared to hers or her father's, it was weird contrast, but she decided she liked it. Her eyes drifted back up and she noticed that he was leading her to the castle and so she stopped. "Is something wrong?" he asked turning to look back at her.

"I'm only allowed in the gardens."

He frowned but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Okay, I will show you around the gardens instead." She didn't believe that she needed a tour guide, but she decided to let him do it, if only for him to keep his smiling.

Happily, Dimitri lead her thought the gardens sharing the little information he had. Byleth wasn't a plant expert but she knew enough to know when he was wrong or if he mispronounced something, but she didn't correct him. She liked the sound of his voice and didn't want him to stop talking.

The gardens were large, impressively so. She wished she could have come when everything was in bloom but seeing all the color of the leaves and watching them fall, still made for a pretty sight, even if most of the trees were already bare. She was content with just wondering around some more, but she knew her companion felt differently; as soon as the tour was done, he was ready to move onto the next thing.

"Let's play Knight and Princess!" he said as he showed off a large stick he found during the tour. "I will be the knight and you will be the princess, okay?"

"Shouldn't I be the knight? I know how to fight," she said blankly.

"No, you have to be the princess because you are a girl!"

"So? Why can't we play Knight and Prince instead?"

"No, you are pretty so you have to be a princess!"

"But I think you are prettier."

A blush spread across his face before he stopped his foot on the ground. "I am not pretty! I am strong! Besides, I found a stick to be a sword, so I get to be the knight!" She couldn't argue with that, the only thing she had on her was a dagger, but her father made sure that she knew that it wasn't a toy.

They decided, or mostly Dimitri decided, that one of the random garden's gazebos would be her castle, where she would wait for her knight to rescue her. She didn't really get it and was having a hard time imagining a castle, let alone the "monsters" he had to save her from. He would constantly stop whatever he was doing to explain to her what she was supposed to be doing; she never seemed to get it, but he didn't seem to mind.

Byleth always had a keen sense of her surroundings and of the time of day but when she looked up into the sky and discovered that it was already late into the afternoon she was lost. She had parted with her father around noon and she wondered if he was finished with his business and if he was looking for her. Fidgeting with the trim of her jacket she wondered if she should go look for her father, as she knew how worried he got but she also didn't want to leave Dimitri. She never realized before that moment how fun it could be to be with someone around her age and it left a bitter feeling. She often overheard some of her father's mercenaries mentioning how it was better to not make friends as losing them was just painful and she had followed that rule, not that it wasn't that hard to do with considering how uncomfortable she made people. But she broke that rule.

Dimitri had stopped what he was doing when he saw her just standing there. "Kid? What is wrong?" Her blue eyes met his clear ones; she didn't want to stop looking into his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but another voice overshadowed hers. Jumping she quickly spun around to see the intruder and her hand flew to the dagger at her hip.

"Ah, Dimitri so this is where you have run off too?" said the intruder. He was a tall man with combed back, blond hair, and the same color of eyes as Dimitri. She could imagine that's what Dimitri would look like when he was older and had a beard. He shifted his gaze onto her and smiled. "Oh, and who might you be?"

"This is Kid!" Dimitri was quick to say. "She is my new friend!" He was smiling widely.

The man chuckled. "Kid? Is that your name?"

"That is her nickname!" Dimitri said before she could say anything. "All her friends call her that and since I am her friend I get to call her that now!"

More chuckling from the man. He bent down low so that he could be eye level with the children. "Tell me, do the people who call you that, are they much older than you?" She nodded yes and he gave her a knowing smile before shifting his attention onto the boy. "Sorry Dimitri, you cannot call her that."

Pouting Dimitri stopped his foot. "And why not?"

"Because older people are only allowed to call someone a kid." Dimitri continued to pout and cross his arms over his chest. "Look on the bright side you can give her a new nickname. Make your friendship a special one." His son's face light up at that.

"Can I really give you a new nickname?" she nodded yes, and he started to bounce with excitement. Almost immediately he started to list off names but would frown after each one, after a few seconds of this he huffed and stopped his foot. "I cannot think of one that I like."

"There is no need to rush it." A frown stayed on the young boy's face. "Well how about…" The man turned to her and stopped at the lack of name to work with.

"Byleth Eisner," she said picking up on the man's mild stress. She held out her hand for a handshake, as she had seen her father done numerous times. The man stared at her hand for a bit before laughing and shaking it. On the back of his hand she noticed a mark similar to her father's. If she were to briefly describe her father's mark, she would call it pretty (despite his probable numerous protest), while the man's would be powerful with all the sharp lines.

Noticing her stare the man held up the back of his hand for her to inspect it. "Are you interested in the Crest of Blaiddyd?" Her eyes flew to Dimitri, who shyly looked down.

"No," she said with a slightly shake of her head, "it just reminded me of my father's but his is more pretty."

"Is that so?" He took his hand back and gave her a soft smile. "Well then, it is your turn to come up with a nickname."

She looked at Dimitri, who was looking at her again, expectantly. "Blayid?"

Blaiddyd!" He stopped his foot. "And no, you cannot call me by my last name!"

It was her turn to list off some names but at a much slower rate. Every name she came up with was quickly vetoed by Dimitri, who was giving her vague descriptions of what he wanted his name to be like; like it had to sound strong and knightly as well as other similar things. The man quietly watched in amusement. Eventually they decided that they would have to think on their names a bit more.

"Kid! There you are!" Jeralt shouted as he made his way over to her. "You had me worried!" He picked her up and secured her in his arms before he realized that she was with two other people. "Your Majesty?! And Prince Dimitri?!" He awkwardly bowed with her in his arms. She glanced at Dimitri, who was looking down and was frowning.

"Are you really?" the king asked as he stood up.

"Aye, I'm Jeralt, Your Majesty. Captain of the mercenary group that you hired. I'm sorry if my daughter has done-" He was silenced by a raised hand from the king.

"Peace Jeralt, your daughter has done nothing but become friends with my son." With wide eyes the mercenary looked at his daughter. "I would like to continue to foster their friendship if you do not mind. I am sure my son feels the same." Clinging to his father's leg Dimitri nodded but he was still frowning.

"Your Majesty?" Jeralt's eyes shifted between the two people, before him. "Are you sure? I mean we are-"

"I do not judge people based on their backgrounds. And my son is often lonely being the only child in the castle. So, I would like to let their friendship grow. Of course, if that is okay with you." Jeralt's lips tighten into a thin line and he looked at his daughter who was watching the young prince.

"Should I call you Prince-" Byleth was able to say before Dimitri interrupted her.

"No! You can call me anything but that! You can even call me by my last name if you want!"

"Blaidid?"

"Blaiddyd." The frown on the prince's face finally gave away to a smile when he corrected her.

The king watched the children's exchange with a smile while Jeralt's held a more somber expression. His daughter wiggled around in an attempt to get him to put her down, but he refused. Holding his daughter tighter he shifted his weight around.

"Forgive me Your Majesty but we should be going," Jeralt said with a flat tone. The king looked into his eyes and nodded before picking up his own child.

"Ah, we should be too," the king said as he ignored Dimitri's protest. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"The honor was all ours, Your Majesty." Another awkward bow and he was about to turn to leave when Dimitri called out.

"Byleth you will come tomorrow to play, will you not?" She looked at Dimitri before looking at her father. She could tell by her father's expression that he was against it, but she wanted to return. She glanced at the king, who was staring at her father with a difficult expression to read but when he noticed her gaze, he gave her a warm smile. Despite her father's wishes she nodded yes and was given the biggest smile from Dimitri yet. In return she felt the grip on her tighten as the farewells were said again.

With some distance created between the father and daughter pair and the royals, Jeralt spoke, "did you really make friends with the prince?" His tone was flat, and he didn't look at his daughter as he spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said, and the unexpected apology grabbed his attention. "I know mercenaries shouldn't have friends but…"

He stopped in his tracks to properly look at his daughter. To the untrained eye she was an emotionless being, but he knew better, as all one had to do was to look into her eyes to see what she was feeling and at that moment she was feeling guilt. It broke his heart and he rested his forehead against hers. "Oh Byleth… You're allowed to have friends," he said as he choked back a sob. "Forgive me for not allowing you to have one before now." She shook her head and awkwardly hugged his head. He took a deep breath to control his emotions before he spoke again, "hey, when we get to the hotel, let's have your favorite dish for dinner, okay?" While her face never reflected it, her eyes did as they shined with delight and he smiled at that.


	2. Chapter 2

To the Guest that recommended the story "The Winter Lady of Fraldarius" by teecup_angel. Thank you, the story is great! I highly recommend it as well. You can find it on Archive of Our Own.

* * *

**Ethereal Moon 1170:**

Byleth expected to learn many things from Dimitri, like what to expect from a friend and such, sitting in a "classroom" and learning about how to be a proper lady and whatnot wasn't something she was expecting. Because her father had to leave early in the morning for work and since she had nothing better to do, Byleth would arrive at the castle early in the day; she was perfectly content with just wondering around as she waited for Dimitri to finish whatever he had to do, but when he learned that she was waiting for him he had started to skip his lessons to play with her. Eventually it was decided that she would attend the lessons with him. She didn't mind but she wasn't sure how etiquette lessons would help her as a mercenary.

On Mondays, an etiquette class about proper posture and walking was taught. She didn't know there was a proper way to walk, let alone that she had been doing it wrong her whole life. After her first class on the subject she complained to her father about improperly teaching her to walk and he just laughed at her. She absolutely hated that class but so did the prince, so she took some comfort in not being alone in that regard.

On Tuesdays another etiquette class was taught, and it was about proper dinning etiquette, another class she hated. If they were going to teach her how to eat properly, they could at least feed her when doing so. The class did have at least one good thing going for it and that was it helped her discover love for tea. When she learned that tea parties were a thing, she would ask to have one tea party a week and the prince obliged even if he found them boring.

Wednesdays had the pleasure of being the last etiquette class for the week and it was all about writing and speaking. Despite her not liking the class either, she felt it was the class she most needed. She had never been good with speaking, so it helped her find the words she needed to better communicate with, outside of the words she was not allowed to say that she heard other mercenaries and her father say. Even though she knew she needed the lesson, she found it quite annoying at how proper speaking used to many useless words when she could just get to the point, she with so few.

Thursdays had the pleasure of being the longest class periods as several subjects were taught on those days, from history all the way to math. She had expected to hate learning all kinds of stuff as it wasn't something a mercenary needed to know but she had discovered that she had a love for learning, and it became the second most anticipated class for her. Dimitri was all too eager to share his knowledge and to help her in class.

Fridays had been a free day for Dimitri as they would be reserved for sword training and such, but he wouldn't start those lessons until he was older. Since Byleth has already started her own training, Fridays became a solo class for her, but Dimitri would happily watch, amazed how strong his friend was. Many of the castle's knights were curious to see how skilled the daughter of the Blade Breaker was so she often would draw a crowd when she would practice. So many were amazed at how quickly she was able to adapt to several different weapons or opponents. Despite her only wanting to focus on her swordsmanship she had been given many weapons to practice. At her friend's request she had practiced the lance a lot as he wanted to have proper duals with her when he was older and because she liked using the weapon her father preferred. Fridays had become her favorite days of the week because it was the only time, she was welcomed in the castle outside of Dimitri and King Lambert.

The young girl knew she wasn't popular in the castle. She understood that she was getting special treatment without everyone pointing it out to her, whenever they got the chance. On the rare occasions when Dimitri wasn't at her side, she would be openly mocked or harassed by someone spilling water or "accidently" hitting her. The etiquette teacher had refused to teach her until King Lambert stepped in. The glares from the servants had been hard to deal with but the look of disgust from the few nobles that visited were, especially annoying to deal with. For the sake of her first friend, she put up with it, it wasn't that hard to deal with as she was already used to being disliked.

So, when she learned that she wasn't allowed to attend Dimitri's seventh birthday party it wasn't a surprise to her; Dimitri on the other hand… "I want By at my party!" he demanded as loudly as he could and crossed his arms across his chest to further his point.

Maintaining a strained smile, King Lambert spoke, "I know but she can't. I'm sorry but several nobles have made their arguments clear on this matter." The king was an incredibly busy man but despite that he always made time during the day to see the children; usually it was just a stop by to say hello but sometimes he would join in whatever game they were playing or their tea party. For that day he joined a tea party, but it was clear to her that his purpose was just to share the bad news.

"It is my party and I want my friend there!"

"Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid will be there."

"I want By there too! I need to introduce her to my other friends!"

Despite the king's best efforts, a sigh escaped him. "Look how about we have a smaller party for just the two of you?"

"No!" huffed the prince and he turned away. A few seconds a silence passed before he turned his sights onto her. "By wants to come to my party, right?"

The king's eye soon joined in his son's at staring at her. Dimitri was looking at her expectantly while his father looked at her tiredly and apologetically. She wanted to help the king, as she liked him very much, but if she said no, she knew she would only just be lying and hurt her friend's feelings. She silently wished that they had, had that conversation after she had left for the day.

The longer she went without saying anything the more she feared she would be swallowed by their gazes. She loved how pretty their eyes were and how she could just stare into them and be content but that was only on her terms, and at that moment it was just too much for her. In a panic to draw the attention to anything that wasn't her she pulled out a small, wrapped package from her pocket and held it up for them to see. She had no intention of showing it to Dimitri before his birthday, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She was glad that she had brought it with her.

"Dimitri, do you want to see what I made you for your birthday?" she asked and held out the gift for him. The pout left his face as he began to bounce in his seats as he took the gift. King Lambert raised an eyebrow at her briefly before giving her smile and a small apologetic nod.

Impatiently, the young boy pulled the cloth away to reveal a small piece of leather with the Crest of Blaiddyd engraved on it. He looked at it a bit before looking at her and she felt too self-conscious to look at him. Since she didn't have a lot of money, her father had suggested she make something, and since she liked working with leather and it was something mercenaries had a lot of for repairs, she decided to make something for him with it; unfortunately her skills were still limited. For the past two weeks she had excitedly worked on the gift but it was right at that moment that she remembered that he was a prince and that little patch of leather wouldn't be able to compare to all the extravagant gifts he was sure to receive.

"You made this?" he asked, and she nodded but still refused to meet his gaze. "Dad, look what By made me!" She glanced up to see the prince smiling widely and was shoving the leader patch into his father's face, who was laughing.

"This is nicely made," the king commented as he took the patch.

"Mercenaries have a lot of scraps and I like to make designs on them," she said now that she was feeling more confident, "I can't make anything too difficult though."

"Still this is quite impressive. Hey, you even managed to spell Dimitri's name right." She had spent a lot of time learning to spell her friend's name, without letting him find out. He took his gift back to look at it, above the crest was his full name. Standing up in his chair, he pointed to his last name.

"Blaidimd."

He slumped into his chair. "You spelled it right, how are you still pronouncing it wrong."

"It's hard to pronounce," she defended, and the king laughed. He rubbed his son's head, who was smiling as he looked at his gift.

"What does aster mean?" the king asked as he looked at the gift over his son's shoulders. Under the crest was that simple word.

"Aster is a pretty blue flower that blooms at the end of the summer and I thought I could use that as Dimitri's nickname."

The prince's faced scrunched up and he was about to say something when his father beat him to it, "are those flowers special?"

She nodded yes. "Your eyes remind me of their color, and they are my favorite flowers. While other flowers are wilting away at the end of summer, the asters bloom, and they stand strong and proud. I really like looking at them when I travel."

Nodding King Lambert ruffled up his son's hair. "Look at that she gave you a very special name. You are really lucky." Dimitri's scrunched up face, quickly became a smile.

"I am Aster!" the prince proclaimed loudly and proudly.

**Guardian Moon 1170:**

The ending of the Guardian Moon meant the end of the Great Wolf season, which also meant the end of the Jeralt Mercenaries' contract. Byleth did not want to leave but she was handling it well as goodbyes were said at the castle's gates. Dimitri was not having any of it and clung to his friend and smacked away his father's hand away, when he tried to separate them.

"I want to be a mercenary too!" Dimitri cried clinging to her even harder and nearly knocked the wind out of her. King Lambert hovered over the children trying to find a way to free Byleth. Jeralt stood silently behind, watching.

"You can't," she said as she tried to pull at least one arm free. "You are a prince."

"I do not want to be a prince anymore!" Finally, she was able to pull a hand free and rubbed Dimitri's head, mirroring the action she saw the king often do. Momentarily the prince's crying stopped at he looked up at her. Seizing the opportunity, King Lambert tried to pull his son away and failed. In retaliation the prince gripped her even harder causing a strangled cry to escape her and now Jeralt joined in the hovering.

"I want to go with By!"

"You cannot. Now please let go of her," the king pleaded.

"If I cannot go than By can live with me!"

The adults froze and looked at each other. The king was the first to come to his senses and spoke, "My offer still stands." Jeralt pressed his lips into a thin line and said nothing. Byleth looked between the two as she fought with all her strength to keep her friend from knocking her to the floor.

"Your Majesty," Jeralt finally said but his voice was incredibly stressed. She didn't know what was going on, but she wanted to help her father so with an immense difficult she waddled over to him, with Dimitri in tow. Some of the tension left Jeralt as he smiled at her, while King Lambert openly laughed at her struggle. As soon as she could reach, she gripped her father's pants.

"I want to be a mercenary," she said. She would have liked to stay in one place, especially if that place allowed her to continue to play with her friend but if it made her father sad than she didn't need it.

"Kid," Jeralt said so quietly that it was nearly a whisper.

"No!" Dimitri screamed and he increased his grip way too tightly on her. She started to pull at her father's leg for help as she couldn't speak, and it was King Lambert that quickly got the message.

"Dimitri! Let her go right now! She cannot breathe!" At his father's command, the prince finally let go and was pulled away. She started taking large breaths to get back some air into her lungs and her father picked her up.

"By! I am so sorry!" Dimitri cried from his father's arms.

"It's okay," she said after a few seconds.

"I do not want you to go!"

"Your Highness, it won't be forever," Jeralt said after a few moments of listening to the boy cry and he put Byleth down. "We will come back during the Wyvern Moon."

Dimitri finally stopped crying. Byleth looked at her father, his lips were pressed tightly together but he didn't seem as tensed as before. She then looked at the king, who was staring at her father and nodded slightly.

"Yes," King Lambert said, and it drew his son's attention to him, "we will need their help again." For the first time that day, the prince smiled but it wasn't one of the large ones that she liked but she decided that it would have to do for now.

"By, you will come back, right?" The prince asked quietly, and she looked up at her father that gave her a small nod before she returned the gesture to the prince.

"Bladidd."

"Blaiddyd." He shook his head, but his smile grew a little. "You have to come back, okay? I am going to be waiting!"

She looked at her father, who gave her the small nod again. "I will be back, I promise!"

The final goodbyes were said and Jeralt and his daughter left the castle to head back to their hotel where the rest of his mercenary company was waiting. They walked quietly for a bit before Jeralt suddenly stopped, causing Byleth to do the same. They stayed silent for a moment before a sigh escaped him and he bent down to look her in the eye.

"Are you really okay with this?" he asked, and she tilted her head. "The king offered me a position as a knight, you can live in the castle and always be with the prince." When he mentioned playing with the prince his eyes narrowed briefly.

She rested her head on her knuckles. That sounded like a really good thing. She liked sleeping on beds way more than she did on the ground. The castle also had really good food and she would get to drink a lot of tea. And of course, getting to play with Dimitri everyday would be incredible, but when she looked at her father, she believed he felt differently.

"You don't want that, do you?" she finally asked, and he looked away from her.

"I don't know if I can keep you safe, if I were to be a knight." She titled her head, even though she was only there for a few months the castle seemed way safer than their life on the road. She wanted to ask but when she saw the guilt on her father's face, she decided against it.

"If you are not happy than I don't want it."

"Kid," he breathed, and she could see his eyes getting misty. He pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tightly, but nowhere near as tight as Dimitri had done. After a few seconds he finally broke the hug to look at her. "I promise you will see your friend again." She nodded at him before giving him her own small hug.


	3. Chapter 3

Ages:

Byleth: 11

Dimitri: 7 going on 8

* * *

**Wyvern Moon 1171:**

To Byleth the Wyvern Moon came pleasantly quickly, to Dimitri it was excruciatingly slow. Despite all the guards and servants trying to dissuade him, Dimitri was determined to wait for Byleth outside of the castle. He was going to be the first to see her and so he waited for her outside the gates (the farthest he was allowed to leave), along with two guards.

It wasn't until late into the first day of the month that the Jeralt Mercenaries arrived. The guards sighed in relief that they wouldn't have to spend another day waiting. Their relief was short lived as Dimitri took off running. They cried out for the prince as they struggled to get up and give chase, but he didn't care.

"By!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and was waving as he made his way over.

Hearing and seeing her friend, caused Byleth to run towards him. She was only mildly aware of her father's warning to be careful. "Blaidid!" she yelled back.

"It is Blaiddyd!" She huffed under her breath. She had spent all week practicing pronouncing his name and yet that skill still alluded her.

When they finally reached each other, she had been expecting to share some greetings and talk, not to be tackled to the ground in a death grip. Her head throbbed as she stared up at the sky trying to make sense of things. Dimitri's faced popped into her view of vision, his large, warm smile and clear blue eyes caused the corners of her lips to twitch into a very small smile.

"I missed you! Did you miss me?" She nodded yes and he crawled off her with a cheer.

Her father rushed over to them and she looked up at him from the ground. His eyes widen before settling softly and a large smile spread across his face. "Kid-" was all he was able to get out before stopping at the sight of his daughter being pulled up and onto her feet and then for her hand to be wrapped around by a smaller one.

"Mr. Jeralt Eisner sir, we are going to go play now, okay?" Dimitri said all that very quickly as started to pull her away before he finished.

"Hey! Wait!" Jeralt yell but he remained rooted in place.

"Your Highness please slow down," the guards whined as they went back to chasing their liege.

The mercenary watched the children run away with a frown on his face. He didn't turn to face his second-in-command, who had walked up next to him laughing. "How much trouble do you think I'll get into for killing the prince?"

"A lot," laughed his companion. "Now calm down, the prince is only seven. He's probably not even aware of what his actions could be mean." Jeralt said nothing but continued to glare at the young prince. "At least wait until he's a little older before threatening him." The father grunted out his displeasure.

**Red Wolf Moon 1171:**

Falling back into her routine from last year was comforting. Lessons in the morning, playing with Dimitri in the afternoon, and all the disapproving scorns. Actually, the scorns were harsher than last year's. Byleth was curious as to why, but she never acted on her curiosity as she had much more preferred playing with Dimitri, who was clinging to her more so than last year as to not waste their precious little time they had together. He finally understood just how little time four months was.

During her travels she had taken it upon herself to play with all the local children that she could, whenever she was in town so that she could learn a bunch of games and teach them to Dimitri. He was excited to learn all the games and so they would quickly jump from one game to the next as a sampler. It was hard for her to keep up, but she enjoyed it, none-the-less. Though, she didn't believe they got a good grasp on any of the games.

The games she noticed that Dimitri liked the most, usually involved a lot of moving around in some shape or form and she enjoyed those too. She used them as an excuse to train as well as to tire out her friend so he wouldn't make as big of a fuss when she left for the day. King Lambert had thanked her at one point for tiring out his son as it made it easier for him to go to bed; it became her mission from that point on to make sure Dimitri had no energy left before she headed for the inn but that also meant that she was usually tired too.

On one fateful day during the Red Wolf Moon, she had started a game of tag just before dusk, her cut off time. Because she was faster, she could easily avoid him, making it the best game to wear him out. She had dashed through the hedges ignoring his complaints. Gasping for air as she dashed into one of the small clearings in the garden and froze upon laying her eyes on a knight in silver armor, who was looking around.

The knight didn't have any blue on him, a clear sign to her that he wasn't a kingdom knight, but that wouldn't have meant much to her; no it was the symbol on the knight's shield, the Crest of Seiros, that made her blood run cold. If it wasn't for Dimitri's too hard shove, she would have been lost in a trance. Without uttering a sound, she took off running in the opposite direction of the knight and she was completely ignorant to Dimitri's complaints.

With her mind racing she struggled on what to do next, when she made it to the garden's end and was greeted with the large walls that surrounded the castle. Without her father by her side she became acutely aware of how vulnerable she was, and she found herself struggling to breath, let alone focus on one thought, besides "getting away". Breathing was becoming all but impossible the longer she took to do anything. She dropped to her knees, and a hand clung to her chest, as she silently pleaded to the heavens for her dad to come and get her.

A hand was placed on her shoulders and she whipped her head so fast that it hurt but she wouldn't be aware of the pain until sometime later. Wide dark blue eyes stared into concern, clear blue eyes. Dimitri wouldn't have been able to do anything, deep down inside she knew that, but it didn't matter at that moment as a wave of comfort washed over her and she found herself breathing with a bit more ease.

"By, what is wrong?" Dimitri asked. "Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?"

She shook her head no. "I need to hide," her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke.

No other words were exchanged as he quickly took charge of the situation. Grabbing her hand, he led her to a small secluded area of the garden, where they could hide behind the unkept hedges. He didn't say anything as he kept an eye out for, whatever they were hiding from. After a while of nothing appearing before his sights, he sat down next to her and mirrored her by pulling his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

"How are you feeling?" he asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Better," she answered quietly. The fear that had gripped her so fiercely was slowly vanishing. She turned her head to look at him but kept her knees against herself. "Thank you."

He gave her a small smile. "Is it alright, if I ask what happened?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I saw a knight with the Crest of Seiros on his shield."

"Must have been a Knight of Seiros," he commented absentmindedly.

Sucking in a deep breath she pulled her knees closer to her and rested her head on them. There were knights that belonged to bad symbol? She had thought the only thing she had to worry about were priest. Knights were another thing. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she tried to figure out why a foreign knight would be at the castle. Was the kingdom working with them? She quickly chased that thought away as she didn't want to entertain it anymore. Dimitri and King Lambert were good people, they wouldn't be working with bad people.

She buried her face into her knees. She didn't know what to do next. Her father always told her to run away but where was she supposed to go too? She didn't know where her father was, so what would be a safe place to run too? She gripped her knees tighter as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

"By?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts, but she didn't move. "What is wrong?"

It took a few seconds before she answered into her knees. "Are the Knights of Seiros bad people?"

He repeated her question as he wasn't sure if he understood her through her mumbling and she gave an awkward nod. "No?" She stiffened. "I was told that they are good people." She didn't say anything and so he started to rub her back, imitating a gesture his father would do when he was upset.

A few more seconds passed before she was comfortable enough to rest her head on knees, but she still didn't look at him. "My father told me that they are bad people," she dug her nails into her legs, "that they will take me away if they found me."

"I will not allow that!" She flinched at his sudden outburst, which caused her to look at him. Standing on his feet, his hands were balled into tiny fists and there was a fire in his eyes. "I will protect you!" She was stronger, faster, and bigger than him and yet she found herself believing in him.

"Thank you, Aster." He gave her his biggest smile yet.

* * *

The knight might have spoiled the rest the day, but she returned to her hotel room happy and eager for tomorrow to come. She arrived earlier than she normally did, causing her father to raise an eyebrow at her as he watched her sit herself down on her bed started working on Dimitri's next birthday gift. Patiently he waited for her to say something but when she didn't, he sat on her bed with her. Stopping, what she was doing she looked up at him with her normal static expression.

"Hey Kid," he said, and she nodded. "Did you and the little prince get into a fight?" She simply shook her head no, but still didn't say anything. "Okay, did you at least eat dinner?" Again, she simply shook her head. Narrowing his eyes, he sat closer to her. "Kid, what's wrong?" His tone was soft. "You love the castles food, it's one of the things you have been most looking forward to all year long." It was true, she loved the castle's food very much. It had been the third thing she was most excited for; Dimitri was number one and King Lambert was number two. She would have been more excited for the food than King Lambert but because she was sure that would hurt his feelings, she had decided to choose him instead, not that she ever told him any of that. "Did something happen?" Her father's voice brought her out of her little thoughts. "Did someone hurt you?" His tone took a dark turn at his final question.

She shook her head no. After her little run in with the knight she wanted to be by her father's side, and she was surprised at how understanding Dimitri had been. "I wanted to eat dinner with you." She always wished she could eat dinner at the castle with her father so he could try out the great food, but he always returned after dinner had been served. A large smile spread across his face and he patted his daughter's head.

"What would you like to eat?"

She took a minute to think. "Cheesy Verona Stew."

He gave her a small, apologetic smile. "I don't think this inn has something so…fancy." The corners of her lips dropped into a tiny pout, that almost anyone could have missed but he smiled at that. He still had his apprehensions about working with the Kingdom but to see his expressionless daughter slowly changing, then maybe it was for the best after all.

"I'll tell you what, I'll go pick out our meal and you get ready, okay?" She nodded and hopped off the bed.

The meal the ate was nowhere near as good as what she would have had at the castle, but she still enjoyed it; it was better than what they usually ate. Having her father by her side was a great comfort, and her father was in a good mood which just made her feel all the better. After dinner, her father would usually drink with his mercenary company but that night, he just wanted to spend more time with his daughter, which she was grateful for as she wasn't ready to separate from him yet.

In their room, Jeralt helped her with her gift. It was peaceful and she had to wonder if Dimitri did similar things with his father. A thought always did nag her whenever she looked up at her father and saw his crest. Her mind would always drift back to that knight and what Dimitri said.

"Father?" she called and he hummed as he stretched out a piece of leather. "What would happen if I saw someone with the bad mark?"

Instantly he stopped what he was doing to face her. She had seen her father afraid before, like when she had jumped out a tree and broke her arm, but the look he had on his face then was something else and she became afraid because of it. His eyes looked over her and she felt herself shrinking under his gaze.

"Did you see them in the castle?" His tone was intense. It was something she had never heard from him before. She didn't answer as she was too afraid of what the outcome would be. "Byleth answer me!" She flinched. He rarely said her name and it was only ever in a soft, gentle tone.

"…No," she said weakly. She didn't know why she lied to her father.

"Did you pass one on the way here?!"

"…No." His eyes narrowed on her.

"Are you lying to me?"

She shook her head. She had never lied to her father before and she didn't like lying to him then, but she couldn't bring herself to say the truth. She wished she hadn't said anything.

"Then why did you ask such a thing?"

"In class I learned that the mark is called the Crest of Seiros and it's a good mark." It wasn't a complete line as she had indeed learned that in one of her lessons, last year. "I was just wondering why it's bad."

Sighing, he ran a hand down his face. The tension left his body after another sigh. He beckoned for her to come and she did, albeit hesitantly. He sat her on his lap and patted her head until her tension left her.

"I'm sorry for scarring you," he said, and his tone was much softer, she liked that. "I told you before that they will take you away from me. That's why they are bad." She nodded and he gave her a small smile.

"What would you do if I do see one of them at the castle?" His eyes narrowed again.

"If you see one at the castle or anywhere for that matter, we have to run far away from them." Her eyes widen slightly at that. She didn't want that. She didn't want to run away from Dimitri. "Now are you sure you didn't see anyone with that mark?" She nodded yes.

**Ethereal Moon 1171:**

After that day Byleth didn't run into any other Knights of Seiros or priest, to which she was eternally grateful for as her father had kept asking her about it for two weeks straight. Dimitri didn't understand what was going on, but he tried his hardest, and every morning he would give her status updates of the castle and if there were any church people he saw. He didn't give much information, but it was enough for her.

Everything had returned to normal and it was great until the first week of the Ethereal Moon, when Dimitri fell ill. It wasn't something serious or at least that's what King Lambert had personal shared with her, but she had a feeling that he was saying that more for himself. She assured him that she would wait patiently for him to get better and he smiled at her.

Without Dimitri, she had no idea why she still had to attend lessons and yet she did, under the king's order no less. Etiquette classes were unbearable without her friend, because the teacher was able to show off her disdain with no fear of repercussions. The teacher wasn't the only one to make their dislikes known as she no longer had Dimitri to hide behind, so many of the servants and even some of the guards would openly mock her. Staying in the castle had almost become unbearable. She wanted to see Dimitri as she was sure just seeing him would give her the strength to carry on, but she wasn't allowed too. She had been told by the king that she couldn't see her precious friend because he didn't want her getting sick too, and she hated that.

She was only able to last three days before she had enough and snuck away to see Dimitri. After becoming friends, she had been allowed in some areas of the castle but because they mostly played outside, she didn't have as much of a familiarity with the interior as she would have liked. It made her little stealth mission difficult as she kept second guessing herself at every turn but eventually, she was able to find the right room.

To say Dimitri's room was large, was an understatement. She didn't know if she even knew a word to properly describe just how big it was; and his bed would need its own ridiculous word too. Sleeping in the middle of the bed and tucked all properly in was the prince. She wanted to crawl over to him to get a better look at him (and to see how soft his bed was) but she feared that she would wake him, so she decided against it. She decided to sit on a chair that had pulled up against the bed and watch him.

She was happy to see that his hair hadn't lost any of the brilliance of its color, not that she thought it was possible for hair to lose its color from being sick. Fhirdiad always seemed to be blanked in clouds but she never missed the sun as Dimitri's warm smile and shiny hair was enough for her. And as for the sky she only needed to look into his eyes to be reminded of its beauty. She remembered hearing some mercenaries talk about people being appeasing on the eyes and she wondered if Dimitri fit that description.

"By?" A soft voice broke her out of her dreamless sleep. Lazily she lifted her head to see Dimitri awake and was in the process of crawling towards her but stopped. "You cannot be here." Her lips twitched into a tiny pout. "You will get sick."

"It's okay," she mumbled as she yawned; only afterwards did she remember it was improper to yawn the ways she did, but he didn't seem to mind. "I wanted to see you."

His lips were twitching, threatening to break out into a smile at any moment. "I wanted to see you too. But I do not want you to get sick too, so you have to leave."

"It's okay, I'm strong."

"I am strong too," he mumbled and that smile that was fighting to break free lost and became a pout.

"Well, I'm stronger."

Standing on his bed, he pointed a finger at her and proclaimed, "I will get stronger than you!" She was going to tease him about how pointing was highly improper, but she didn't get the chance as he started coughing.

She hovered at the bed's side unsure of what to do. Desperately she tried to recall what her father did when she was sick. "Water!" she shouted and through his coughing fit he cracked open one eye to look at her. Her eyes swiftly scanned his room for water but here was none to be found. "I'll get you some water!" She raced to the door, completely forgetting that she had snuck in.

Just when she reached the door, it opened, and a lady walked in. She had long, peach hair, and soft, blue eyes and wore simple white, healer robes; if Byleth had been in a better state of mind she might have thought that the woman was pretty. The lady smiled as she bent down to look at Byleth.

"You must be the infamous Byleth that I've heard so much about," she said in such a sweet tone that the girl could only nod.

"Cornelia, is something wrong?" King Lambert asked as he appeared behind her. When he spied Byleth his eyes narrowed. "By, you know you are not allowed in here." The young girl fidgeted under his gaze.

"Oh, come now, Your Majesty," Cornelia said as she arose, "it's cruel to keep friends apart."

"If she gets sick, her father will kill me." She laughed softly at that. "I am serious her father is a terrifying man when he gets angry."

"Well then, we just have to make sure you don't get sick then, right Blyeth?" Cornelia gave the young girl a playful wink and she nodded in return. "Now come, let's go treat the prince, shall we?" Byleth watched as the lady, practically glided over to the bed. She was going to follow when King Lambert stopped her.

"By, you cannot get sick." She nodded. "Promises you will not get sick." She nodded again. "You absolutely cannot get sick." Again, she nodded. "Byleth, please do not get sick."

"I won't get sick," she finally said, and he sighed before pushing her forward so that she could run over to his son.


	4. Chapter 4

Ages:

Byleth: 12

Dimitri: 8 going on 9

Felix: 8

Glenn: 14

* * *

**Verdant Rain Moon 1172:**

Jeralt might have been training his daughter to wield a sword from a young age but that was purely for self-defense reasons only. He never had any intentions of having her fight or become a mercenary. He never wanted to have her hands stained with blood. And yet everything he tried to prevent fell apart in one night.

The twenty-seventh of Verdant Rain Moon had been the same as any other summer night, hot but peaceful. His daughter had started getting excited about meeting her friend since there was only one month left before they would be reunited. Stiff as they maybe it was still a wonderful sight to see his daughter express emotions. She had yet to really show off a large smile or anything, but he believed when they got to Fhirdiad, she would finally smile for real. It did irk him greatly that her smile would be for the prince and not for him but that was fine…kind of.

Yes, it had been a good night until bandits ambushed them. Fools, who were stupid enough to attack armed men, fueled by long held grudges to throw caution to the wind. In a normal circumstance those bandits would have been nothing, and oh how Jeralt had wished it were under such calm circumstances. Chaos was cruel and terrifying even to the most experienced of warriors, that night was filled with the cries of men, whether it be for battles, their last, or those seeking salvation; the chaos swallowed them whole.

Jeralt had trained his daughter to run and hide if ever such an unfortunate situation happened and it was a small comfort to see her training kick in and she fled but his attention was quickly drawn away, much to his dismay. He didn't see where she ran off too, didn't see if any of the bandits had noticed her. All he could do was pray to the goddess, he had lost faith in so long ago, to protect her. It was a sickening feeling he prayed to never feel again, to know that his daughter was in such a dangerous situation and he was helpless to do anything about it.

The battle ended quickly but it was an eternity to him. He didn't care about a possible threat of other bandits lurking in the shadows, nor the cries of his wounded men; no all he cared about at that point was finding his missing daughter. He screamed her name at the top of his lungs, but she never responded, and fear gripped his chest, threatening to silence him once and for all.

Finally, he found her and the relief that should have followed the discovery was nowhere to be found. His daughter, his precious, innocent, little girl was sitting on the floor, blood splattered across her face and body and her curious, dark blue eyes that she got from her mother were wide and unfocused. Her blade was held protectively out in front of her in a death grip, and the body of a dead bandit had been run through and was now buried to the hilt.

Her name was nothing more than the softest of whispers upon his lips as he swiftly made his way over to her. Her eyes finally focused when he was at her side. Now at her side he could see that the front of her tunic had been partially cut and an immense rage seethed throughout his body, but it diffused just as quickly when he looked into her terrified eyes. He ripped the blade from her hands and tossed it aside, he didn't care that his own hand had been sliced in the process. Pulling her into a tight embrace, he ran his hand through her hair with his good hand and whispered to her that everything was going to be okay.

She didn't speak for two days. In desperation he wrote to king Lambert, pleading to let his company arrive early. He didn't need money; he was placing all his hopes on the prince being able to help his daughter.

**Horsebow Moon 1172:**

It wasn't until the second week of the ninth month that the Jeralt Mercenaries arrived in the kingdom's capital. Jeralt had wanted to arrive much sooner but with most of his men injured, it was impressive that they had arrived as quickly as they did. That was supposed to be the start of good things, but he never planned or expected for his daughter to have such a fierce, negative reaction.

"I don't want to see Aster!" she screamed in their room. His daughter never raised her voice above a necessary volume; normally he would have been excited at another positive change but all it did was grip his heart painfully. Despite her watery eyes no tears fell, almost like she was physically unable to do so; it was another painful squeeze to his already weakened heart.

"Byleth," he softly whispered her name as he took a step forward, but she remained on high guard and took a step back. "The prince is waiting for you."

"No!" She violently shook her head. "I won't see him!" She ran to her bed and buried herself in the blankets.

Silently he stood in place, watching the quivering pile of blankets. He brought his hands to his face and a long, sigh escaped him. For the past few years, he had wondered if he should have accepted the king's offer and became a knight to the kingdom. His daughter would have had a better life, but his fears of the church had been too much. What once had been a passing thought had turned into an all-consuming one since the ambush. If he had taken the position his daughter would have spent that night playing with her friend and would never have had to kill that bandit. His daughter would have remained happy and innocent, instead of tormented. But it was too late, the damage had been done and so all he could do was try and help her.

Hesitantly, he sat on the bed and frowned when she pulled the covers closer to her. He reached his hand out to pull the covers back but decided against it, instead he just patted the area where he assumed her head would be. Neither one of them said or did anything else for a while.

"Why don't you want to see the prince?" It took him a while, but he was finally able to work up the courage to ask the question. she mumbled something into her bed, but he couldn't understand. 'I'm sorry, honey, but I couldn't understand that."

For a few seconds she didn't do anything, and he was about to give up, when she started to move. She stuck her head out of her cocoon, but she didn't look at him. "Aster is pure." He didn't say anything and hoped his silence would get her to elaborate. "I'm tainted. I don't want to taint Aster. He needs to stay pure."

"Byleth," he breathed and tried to pull the blankets back, but she wouldn't allow it. "What makes you believe you are tainted?" He knew the answer but hoped with all his might that maybe, just maybe, it could have been something else.

She released her tight grip to bring her hands out and stared at them. She quickly balled up her fist and shoved them back into the blankets and out of sight. She didn't say anything, she didn't have too, the gesture was enough for him; ever since the incident he had seen her scrub her hands raw, to wash away the long, gone blood multiple times.

With a bit of effort, he pulled her to him and gave her a tight embrace. "You're not tainted," he whispered into her hair, "what makes you believe that?" She pulled herself away just enough to look into his eyes. There was once an innocent spark in her eyes, but it was now gone, and he feared it would be lost forever. "Do you think, I'm tainted?" She didn't say anything but pressed her lips together. "Did I taint you?"

His daughter shook her head. "I'm not Aster. I'm not warm or bright like the sun, like him. I can't be corrupted but he can. He needs to stay pure."

"You've always been my sun, my light." She collapsed onto him and gripped his tunic. Her little body shook with silent sobs and yet not tears escaped her.

* * *

Byleth had been in Fhirdiad for over a week and Dimitri had yet to see her and that was just downright unacceptable. He had lost count with how many times he had asked to go and see her, and no one had yet to give him an acceptable answer. Before she arrived, his father had explained that something had happened, and she might not be okay and that was all the more reason why he needed to see her and yet no one was letting him.

He was a good child, a great child some might have argued. He always listened and behaved. He rarely threw a tantrum (when it was about Byleth leaving) but his star child award was tossed as side when he demanded to see her. No amount of reasoning from anyone, his father included, could get him to calm down. He was going to see Byleth and that was that!

At his wits end king Lambert had agreed for his son to leave the capital and go pick up Byleth, he was not allowed to stay out for long. With a large smile, Dimitri stood outside the inn with four guards and was happily waiting for Jeralt to get his daughter. The mercenary remained in place his eyes flickered between the prince and his guards. A sigh escaped him as he pinched the bridge of his nose before once again looking at the prince.

"Your Highness," Jeralt sighed, "my daughter doesn't want to come out and play right now."

"Can I see her please!" Dimitri said in the sweetest voice he could muster, it usually got Byleth to do whatever he wanted. Another sigh escaped the man. "I just need to make sure she's okay! I will not bother you anymore! I promise I will wait patiently at the castle until she is ready to play! So please, may I see my friend?" Pressing his lips tightly together, Jeralt finally relented and lead the way with the large group following.

"Byleth," Jeralt called softly. He stood in the doorway, blocking her view of her unexpected guest. She had been sitting on her bed, flipping a piece of leather back and forth in her hands, she barely spared him a glance. "There is someone here to see you."

That was Dimitri's unplanned que to squeeze pass the mercenary and door. All complaints were lost to him, when his eyes landed on her and he cheerfully yelled her name. With wide eyes she pressed herself against the wall and demanded for him to leave. Frozen in his spot, Dimitri looked back at her father, who wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Go back to the castle!" she ordered and looked anywhere but him. Frowning he marched over to the bed. "Go back, I can't play with you anymore!" He looked back at Jeralt, who gestured with his head for the prince to continue and that was what he did and climbed onto the bed. "Dimitri! No!"

"Aster! That is my nickname!" He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away.

"Don't touch me!" The intensity in her voice stopped him. "I'll corrupt you if you touch me!"

Frowning he reached out again. "I do not care! You are my friend and there is nothing bad you can do to me!"

A strange game of cat mouse started. She desperately ran around the room avoiding him at all cost, while at some point, he forgot the point of everything and started to have fun. Jeralt made sure to block the doorway and trap her inside, and she even deliberated on whether or not to attack her father, but that idea was quickly squashed when she spied two knights behind him. Her only other option was to escape out the window, she was sure she would be fine as she could probably jump to the tree next to it, but she was sure her actions would inspire Dimitri to do the same and she couldn't take that risk.

Finally, she slipped, and he took the chance to tackle her into his signature death tackle. She hit the ground hard but that wasn't the problem, his grip was. She pounded the floor and he immediately got the messaged and let her go; it was a gesture she made sure he learned last year after one to many bear hugs. She took a moment to catch her breath before she realized what he had done. She whipped her head around was greeted by his large smile.

"I got you," he sang. She stared at him long and hard. His smile was still warm like the sun and his eyes were still as clear and blue as the sky. Nothing had changed despite the fact that he touched her.

Her body shook as she choked back a sob. "I-I did a bad thing. Do you still want to be my friend?"

He grabbed both of her hands and held them firmly in his. "Of course!" Her eyes glossed over with water and Jeralt was sure she would finally cry and yet not tears fell but despite everything a small smile worked its way onto her face as she thanked her friend.

**Red Wolf Moon 1172:**

After that day, Byleth came to the castle and played every day. It took her some time to fall back into her normal routine, but Dimitri was patient with her the whole time. She never told him what the bad thing she did was and despite him being incredibly curious, he never asked. He could live with his curiosity if it meant he never had to see her sad again.

Next month Dimitri would be turning nine, a big year because he would finally begin his weapons training. Byleth had taught him a little on how to wield a lance but because of his small stature he wasn't able to properly wield it, so they had focused on swords instead. He couldn't wait to show off his new skills at his birthday that was until he learned that yet again, she wasn't allowed to attend. Despite House Gautier, the noble house he would be celebrating his birthday at, being okay with her attending many other nobles still protested and once again he wasn't allowed to celebrate with his friend. He decided he would still show off his skills so that everyone would know how great his friend was.

In ordered to be ready, they had dedicated a portion of everyday to sword training. At first, she had been against picking up a weapon, and would even skip her lessons; but she was still willing to instruct him. It bothered him a little, when they first started, he loved watching her practice; she was strong and amazing, she was his goal. It took her some time, but she would finally practice with a wooden sword, but her swings would be hesitant, lacking the confidence she once commanded but that was okay, she was slowly coming back and that's all he really wanted.

'Hyah!" Dimitri yelled as he swung the wooden sword, he had snuck out of the training grounds.

"No, no, like this," Byleth said as she swung her stolen, training sword, in the same way he was sure he had just done. He tried again but was met with the same response. Frowning he watched as she repeated the motion. When it came to teaching, she had been hit or miss in that department; in one lesson she could be incredible at conveying a point but then utter garbage with the next. He would have found it amusing if he wasn't on the receiving end.

Sighing he flopped onto the ground and watch as she struggled to articulate what he had been doing wrong. Despite his over eagerness to show off at his birthday he was debating to call it a day as it was rare for there to be a sunny day during the winter and even rarer for it to not have at least rain once in a week; that day called for a break he decided.

That day he had spotted a Knight of Serios wondering around so they were practicing in a secluded area of the gardens to avoid the knight as well as anyone that would try to stop them. A sigh soon escaped her, and she folded her arms across her chest with a tiny pout, she just couldn't find the right words. Laughing he patted the ground next to him and she joined him. In silence the watched the clouds as they drifted by, pointing at any that reminded them of something.

It was incredibly peaceful, and she noticed that he was dozing off. She was about to do the same when a cold chill ran down her spine. Quickly, she jumped to her feet, waking him but she didn't care as she was too busy scanning the area. The blood drained from her face, when she heard a low chuckling coming from above her, as fast as she could she grabbed her sword and looked up at the tree, they had been practicing under, sitting on a branch was a cloaked man and she briefly wondered how he got there without her noticing.

Chuckling some more the man dropped down and she stood protectively in front of Dimitri, her wooden sword raised at the stranger. It finally dawned on the prince, what was going on and he clung to her, but she had to push his hands away, in case she needed to fight. The man continued to chuckle as he took a step forward, she had tried to take a step back but immediately bumped into the paralyzed prince.

"You two have just made it too easy for me," the man said in such an eerily delighted tone. From beneath his cloak he pulled out a dagger and twirled it.

With an urgency she lightly pushed Dimitri back. "You need to run," she whispered as she never took her eyes off the threat.

"What about you?" he quietly asked, and she was grateful for his quiet voice.

"I will hold him off." She pushed him again and he grabbed her arm.

"No! I will not leave you!"

"It's clear he's after you. I will be fine."

"No!"

"Are you two done?" They both froze at the question. The man raised his head and she was able to see one piercing, red eye through the covers of his bangs. With all her strength she pushed Dimitri back, barely giving her enough time or energy to block the man's swift strike. The one clear eye focused on her and though she couldn't see it beneath the mask that covered his mouth, she knew he was smirking at her. "Oh, you have some skills?"

"Run now!" She ordered as she blocked another strike, and she could tell he was now playing with her.

"Do you honestly believe that I'm just going to let him escape?" With a swift strike of the back of his dagger he smacked her across her face and tried to knock her away, but she stubbornly braced her foot into the ground and remained blocking his path. It mattered little to him as he easily jumped over her and continued towards his target. With a swing of her sword she had aimed for the back of his knees in hopes of slowing him down but all she came into contact with was his dagger. The hilt of his dagger struck her hard across her face and she was knocked backwards.

He spared her no other time for he quickly turned back to his petrified target. A cry of pain was ripped out of him as he felt a dagger dig into the back of his leg, before being dragged down. He turned back to face her, a seething rage behind his one, visible eye, with his good leg he stomped his foot down on her wrist as she was raising her arm to strike again, and she cried out in pain. He raised his dagger high into the air before plunging it straight into her back of her abdomen with all the force he had, and she screamed out.

Dimitri screamed her name at the top of his lungs and the assassin swiftly turned his sights onto the young boy. The bloody dagger was headed for its target when another sharp pain erupted from the man's leg, halting his assault. Though her wrist may have been broken she still held her dagger and stabbed his wound again. Snarling, he pulled her up by her hair and stared into her fierce eyes. Using the blunt of his dagger he broke her nose, but she didn't make a sound and even refused to show the slightest hint of pain. Dimitri pulled at the man's leg but was violently kicked away and he curled up into a ball, crying Byleth's name.

She did not blink or say anything as she glared at the man before her, she didn't flinch when the dagger was raised for the final blow. Just before the attack could connect, a hand grabbed the assassin's wrist and broke it. He dropped both her and the dagger to glare at the knight behind him from over his shoulder. The orange haired knight pulled back the man's arm, earning a cry of pain, and he slammed the man into the ground, away from her.

She had recognized the knight as Sir Gustave, she didn't interact with him much, but he had been one of the few people that didn't judge her, so she had liked him. With great pleasure she had watched him use his massive shield to knock out the man. Now that the threat was gone, her body finally gave into the incredible pain she felt but she didn't focus much on it, but instead, of the crying prince, who had crawled over to her. She had wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she feared what pain she might feel if she did so.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Sir Gustave asked as he rushed over to the children, after ensuring that the assailant was no longer a threat.

"Byleth," was all Dimitri could say between his sobs. The knight looked at the poor girl, lying on the ground, and wore a complicated expression. "Your Highness, can you walk?" The boy nodded. Carefully the knight picked up the girl and in a frustrating slow pace to him as he ran to the infirmary but made sure that the prince was keeping up. "Forgive me, for not coming sooner." She wanted to shake her head to alleviate some of his guilt, but she was in too much pain to do anything.

* * *

It wasn't long before the castle was in an uproar over the news of the failed assassination and of Byleth's injury. King Lambert stopped everything and ran for his son; at some point in his rush he remembered to issue a clumsy order to summon Jeralt immediately. A stream of curses and prayers spilled from his lips in his haste.

Byleth had been rushed to an infirmary as soon as Gustave was able to find another knight to take care of the prince. The prince had refused to leave her side and desperately fought off anyone who tried to separate them, eventually the other knight had to rush Dimitri with Gustave to the infirmary. Once inside he had accepted that he couldn't be exactly at her side and stood in the corner with Gustave. Even though she had been in incredible pain. She had remained conscious, to the amazement of everyone. She had wanted to slip into the beautiful darkness of unconsciousness and be free of the all the pain, if only for a little while, but she feared it would cause her friend to panic and so she stubbornly fought against it.

The two healers that treated her were professionals. Their focus was entirely on treating her wounds and seemed to easily block out the cries of the prince. They didn't even flinch when the door was slammed open and the king rushed to his son's side, picking him up and holding him tight in his arms. Byleth was impressed as she nearly jumped out of her own skin when that happened.

The king gave a quick look over his son, and relief washed over him like a tidal wave. "Are you hurt?" he asked in a shaky voice. He might be feeling relief, but his nerves were still frayed. Unable to stop crying long enough to answer, the prince just shook his head. The king looked at the knight, who offered a bow and a sincere apology.

"He got kicked in the stomach," Byleth said. King Lambert looked at her and his lips thinned, and tears stared to appear in the corner of his eyes. The healers were diligently taking care of her more serious injuries at the moment, her stomach and wrist, but that meant her face was being neglected and it was starting to swell. He found it hard to look at her for a multiple reason but still shared his appreciation.

Carefully he pulled his son's tunic up and revealed the early stages of a nasty bruise. He ignored the knight's begging for forgiveness for not noticing the injury sooner and focused on channeling some basic Faith magic into his hand. He wasn't very good, but he could at least heal basic injuries. A sad smile grew on his face when he noticed his son slowly stopped crying.

"No!" Byleth's scream immediately and grabbed all the men's attention. She was swatting away a nurse's hand that held a stethoscope.

"Honey, I need to check your heart," the nurse said as sweetly as she could, "I need to make sure everything is okay."

"No!" Another scream and she smacked the nurse's hand with her bad hand, causing a cry of pain to escape her and for her to grip her wrist. "My heart is okay," she managed to say to, but it was strained.

"Byleth, dear, they only want to help," King Lambert said as he made his way over to her side. "They will not hurt you."

"No." She shook her head and folded her arms protectively over her chest. "My heart is fine." To be honest she didn't really know what the issue was; all she knew was that whenever a doctor brought out that medical device her father would be completely against them using it and so she had to do the same in his place.

She refused to budge on the topic and would not listen to their explanations. Having enough of their assault on his friend, Dimitri freed himself from his father's hold and stood protectively in front of his dear friend. Eventually the adults relented and dropped the issue so long as she agreed to stay in the infirmary for observation, and she was okay with that.

* * *

It took far too long for Jeralt to get to his daughter's side. It took an hour for the news to reach him (he was eternally grateful that he didn't go far from Fhirdiad that day), another hour for him to reach the castle, and then thirty minutes for him to arrive at the infirmary, that was far to long for his rattled mind and chaotic heart. He practically broke the door down, when he slammed it open, startling King Lambert and putting the two knights on high alert. Screaming out his daughter's name he rushed to the bed's side.

Once Byleth's adrenaline wore off and from the effects of the healing magic, exhaustion took a strong hold of her, she didn't even stir from all the commotion. He hovered at her side, lost as what to do, she was an incredibly light sleepier. Brushing some her hair aside was the most inspection he could do without ripping the covers off, which his fingers were itching to do.

"She will be fine," King Lambert spoke and alerted the mercenary to his and his knights' presences. "She is just exhausted."

Jeralt looked at his daughter and noticed the content expression on her face. Relief washed over him, and he collapsed to his knees covering his eyes as tears streamed down his face. No one said anything as the large man's body shook with sobs and prayers to the goddess.

* * *

Byleth awoke to the sounds of the castle in a panic just outside of the infirmary. The room she was in was still bathed in Darkness, and she vaguely wondered what time it was as she stared at nothing, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Now awake she could make out what the commotion was about, the prince was missing. She pulled the covers back to discover him, cuddled next to her and she smiled, her little smile, down at him.

Carefully, she crawled around him in ordered to get off the bed without disturbing him and she winced in pain from both her wrist and stomach. The healers had explained to her that Faith magic only heals the wounds, but the pain will linger for some time, she had wished the time could have finished while she was unconscious. Once she was sure she didn't disturb him she walked to the door and discovered her father asleep on the chair next to it. The tension she didn't know she was caring, vanished at the sight of her father.

Discreetly, she slipped through the door as to let in as little light as possible into the room. Outside, people were rushing around in a panic, none would stop when she called out to them. Frowning she was debating if she could just carry Dimitri out, but quickly realized that her pain wouldn't allow her to do that.

King Lambert was the only one, who stopped for her. "Byleth, you should not be up," he said with concern but couldn't hide his panic from his tone. "Go to bed." He about to rush away when she grabbed his hand. She pointed to the door, behind her, and he looked at her and then the door. Sighing, he mumbled that he should have known.

Once the sleeping Dimitri was carried off, she had decided to sleep with her father. Carefully, she tried to crawl on him without disturbing him, but it went terrible and he was quickly on alert. His eyes soften when he realized what she was trying to do so he joined her on the infirmary's bed. He quietly thanked her for surviving as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

For the next few nights Dimitri would sneak out of his room to sleep with her. The panics from his disappearance diminished with each night. Finally, it was agreed that she would sleep with the prince on his bed. She didn't mind as his bed was super comfortable and he was nice and warm. Jeralt, on the other hand, was against it and was given a room in the castle as a compensation and so that he could be nearby at least; he still wasn't happy.

**Ethereal Moon 1172:**

Byleth had greatly underestimated how long it would take for the pain of her wounds to go away. Because she had suffered three serious wounds at once and was still young it would take her some time for the pain to go away, but two weeks was just way too much for her liking. The pain in her head and wrist were gone all that was left was the pain in her stomach, which was the most annoying as it kept her from doing a lot of things. She couldn't play with Dimitri liked they normally did or practice her swordsmanship, but she at least got out of her etiquette classes because of it.

Dimitri had been very helpful, while she recovered. He would help her walk to whatever destination she needed to go (despite her never actually needing assistance), he also refused to let her carry anything even after her wrist had healed, he had tried to take care of every little thing that she might have considered difficult; he even tried to feed her in the beginning but she quickly stopped that. She had been getting so much special treatment that she started to hear the whispers of a new term to describe her and that was "mistress". She didn't know what that word meant and neither did Dimitri. At first, she was content to forget about it but the more she heard it the more she wanted to know.

Byleth sat in Dimitri's room, waiting for him. He had lessons to attend and afterwards something exciting was to happen, neither of them knew exactly what just that she couldn't attend the event, much to the prince's frustrations. Being by herself was fine as it gave her some time to work on the birthday gift; a pair of leather gauntlets to commemorate the start of his sword training. It was incredibly difficult to work on his gift now that they shared a room, so she had to be careful on when she did bring it out to work on.

The door to the prince's chambers were slammed opened and she dropped her tools when she had jumped out of her seat. She whipped her head around to see Dimitri's standing in the doorframe and she quickly tossed all her items into her bag. As soon as she got off her chair, he raced over to her and pulled at her arm to follow him, when she looked back at the door, she saw two new people.

One was a boy smaller than Dimitri with long blue hair and cherry-red eyes and the other was a boy, not much older than herself, with short blue hair and matching eyes. She was pulled along until she was standing in front of them. The smaller boy quickly hid behind the other boy's leg.

"These are my friends!" Dimitri proudly proclaimed, as he widely gestured to them.

"Hello, I'm Byleth Eisner," she awkwardly curtsied without a dress and she was annoyed at how that gesture came so naturally. The etiquette teacher may not like her, but she at least made sure her lessoned stuck. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintances." Even unnecessary words rolled off her tongue with easy. She was sure if her father was there, he would be laughing at her.

"No need for the formalities. Dimitri has told us so much about you that I feel like practically know you," the older boy laughed, "I am Glenn Leith Fraldarius." Finally, Byleth had a picture to go with the name she heard so much from Dimitri. Her eyes landed on the smaller boy that she assumed had to be Felix. "And this is my baby brother Felix Hugo Fraldarius." He lightly bumped the boy, who quickly bowed.

"I-it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Felix said in a meek voice.

"Felix is my best friend!" Dimitri declared with pride and wrapped an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. A shuddered of annoyance washed over her before settling in the pit of her stomach, but her face never reflected it, to which she was grateful for. She wasn't sure why that emotion bubbled; all she knew was that she was going to pretend like it didn't exist.

"I was really hoping to challenge you when we first met," Glenn said with a sigh. She looked up at him and was lost in his blue eyes. His eyes weren't as pretty as Dimitri's but his made her feel weird, but she liked it. It also made her annoyance go away. "It is a shame that wretched assassin had to go and ruin it. I really want to know what the daughter of the Blade Breaker is capable of."

Unable able to look at him any longer she hung her head. "I'm not that strong. I lost to the assassin." Before that moment she had never cared whether she was strong or not but when she saw that man go after Dimitri, she vowed to get stronger and protect those who are precious to her.

"Hey, you fought the assassin and survived." And from what I've heard you even managed to injure him; you should be proud!" She felt a large hand on her head, and it ruffled up her hair a bit. She looked up and noticed his smile, which made her stomach feel all kinds of weird but despite that she found herself smiling, her little smile.

"By!" At Dimitri's cry she turned to face him, and the hand left her head, which was a bit of a disappointment. "I promise to get stronger so that I can protect you!" He tried to come off strong, but he started sniffling at the end, when he remembered her bleeding. Felix stood next to his friend, and his hands hovered awkwardly in the air, unsure of what to do when them.

"Aw, is the little prince going to be Byleth's white knight?" Glenn roughly rubbed Dimitri's head causing the two young boys to struggle in vain to push the older boy away.

"By, help!" At the cry she was at the prince's side but stood around as she didn't know what to do.

"Oh," Glenn hummed as he locked eyes with her, and her stomach once again started flipping. "Who is the knight in your little relationship?"

"I'm a mercenary," she simply said.

"Oh," he had placed both of his arms on top of the younger boys' head and rested some of his weight on them to get a better look at her. All complaints were ignored. "I thought for sure King Lambert would have offered you the chance to become a knight for your bravery."

"He did." She glanced at Dimitri, who was pouting and refusing to look at her; he still hadn't forgiven her for turning down the chance. "I turned it down because I don't think my father wants me to be one." She would have really liked to stay in the castle with all the good foods, comfy beds, and of course spending more time with Dimitri but she didn't want that if it meant her father wasn't happy. Though when King Lambert offered her knighthood, her father had been completely unreadable; she had been trying to not think about it, but she couldn't help but wonder if she made the right choice.

"But what do you want?"

She frowned slightly at him. She wasn't used to being asked such a difficult question. Being a knight would be great but she also realized she would have to give up a lot, the freedom of travel, she also knew that the king's offer didn't extended to the rest of her father's company and she didn't want to abandon them, and she would probably have a lot more dangerous encounters with the people from the church. She still didn't know why she should be afraid of the church, but she was still going to avoid them as best as she could. And she also just wanted her father to be happy and she was hoping that the mercenary life was what he wanted.

"I want to be a mercenary."

Their eyes were locked for a bit before he nodded. He finally got up and smacked the back of the boys' heads and just laughed at their complaints. "Alright, you brats go play. I have things to do." He laughed again when tongues were stuck out at him. "It was nice meeting you Byleth." And with that he left, and she was feeling disappointed.

Without his brother around, Felix stood behind Dimitri and would only give small glances at her. Dimitri patted the other boy's head. "By, is still hurt so we cannot play to rough, okay?" he asked, and Felix slightly nodded his head. The prince took Felix's hand and hers and led the way to outside.

Dimitri struggled to come up with games everyone could play and enjoy, it was hard. Everyone liked games that they could move around in but Byleth couldn't play those at the moment and Felix was too shy and nervous to play board games with her. She had decided to watch them play, so that they could have some fun at least. The prince had been against it at first but after a lot of assurance that she would be fine, he gave in. The boys ran around a lot playing several different games, and eventually settled on Knights and Princess.

She sat at the table in a gazebo, her castle, waiting for her two knights. She watched as they fought off a "horde of vicious monsters" on their way to rescue her. She still struggled with trying to imagine anything so sitting and waiting was perfect for her. Every once and while she would be prompted by Dimitri to say something and even Felix would ask her to say something it was usually something like "save me" or words of encouragement or praise.

"Is she really the one they are grooming to be the mistress?" asked a soft, quiet voice from behind her and was quickly shushed. For a normal person they might not have heard the voice but Byleth had an unusually good hearing. Looking over her shoulder she startled the two maids that were bringing her some tea and treats.

"We have brought you some Mint tea and snacks," one of the maids said as she placed her tray down onto the table and the other quickly followed suit. "We hope that the young lords and you like it." They bowed before departing.

"I do not want to have a tea party," Felix whined as he and Dimitri made their way over. "Ingrid always make me have one whenever I see her."

She turned to see her two knights joining her, one was just a bit reluctant to do so for a number of reasons. Dimitri leaned his toy sword against a bush before sitting at his assign seat next to Byleth. "I told you already. The only thing By asks to play with me is tea parties so we have to have one," Dimitri said as he reached for a cookie. Her tea parties had only been held once a week but since the attack, they were having one every day. She didn't know if they had them so often because of her injury or he just wanted to please her, either way she got to have a lot tea, so she was happy. Felix huffed out his complaint as he took the seat next to his friend.

Just as she finished pouring the tea a chipper voice, invaded the area, "Are we in time for tea?" King Lambert, Glenn, and another man she hadn't met joined them. The stranger had medium length blue hair and eyes and she concluded that he must have been Glenn's and Felix's father.

She quickly got onto her feet and awkwardly curtsied. "Hello, I'm Byleth Eisner," she said, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The man was quick to return the gesture with a bow of his own. "The pleasure is all mine. I am Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius the father to both Glenn and Felix. I humbly offer my thanks for saving the prince's life."

"Oh no, I didn't really do anything."

"Nonsense! My son is only alive because of your bravery!" King Lambert interjected before he took his seat, next to her. "You have my eternal gratitude!" She looked at both men, who smiled at her and then Glenn, who stood off to the side and gave her a firm nod. Glenn did say she should be proud and so she would.

"That's right By! You are a hero!" Dimitri proclaimed with some crumbs stuck to his face. She took a napkin and tried to clean his face; an action she had seen his handmaid do a few times. He smacked her hand away and the king laughed.

"I hope my sons, have not troubled you," Rodrigue said as he took his seat and poured himself some tea.

"Oh no, they have been really nice. Glenn is warm and encouraging." She glanced at said boy and when their eyes meet her stomach was back to being funny. "Felix is sweet and calm. Playing games with him is easier than Aster." She gave Dimitri a small pat on the head when he voiced a small complaint.

"Aster?"

"That is my nickname!" Dimitri shouted with pride.

"No fair!" Felix shouted feeling more confident in the presence of people he knew. "I want a nickname too!"

"You have to ask By for one."

Felix looked at her and a tinge of pink colored his cheeks. He tried to maintain eye contact, but it slowly drifted away. "Can I have a nickname," he mumbled quietly.

"Felix," his father said in a stern tone.

The smaller boy looked back up at her and his cheeks turned a darker shade. "May I please have a nickname?"

She nodded. "It will take me some time to think of one, is that okay?" For the first time he smiled at her and vigorously nodded his head.

The rest of the tea party went pleasantly. She didn't really know Lord Rodrigue well, but she figured he was a nice man, worthy of her trust and he was the father of her two new friends. King Lambert didn't seem to be in a rush to leave like he normally was as so she figured she could ask him the question that has been plaguing her for a while.

"King Lambert-" she managed to say before he interrupted her.

"Now By, we have been over this, you may call me Lambert." She frowned slightly. She already knew it was highly improper to just call him King Lambert but to address him without any title was a level of specialty she didn't think she deserved. She clearly understood why she wasn't liked in the castle and both the king and prince were more than eager to innocently add fire to the already volatile mix. "Lambert," his name awkwardly spilled from her lips as she knew she wouldn't be able to ask her question unless she called him that.

"Yes, my child?" he practically sang before he took a sip of his tea.

"What's a mistress?" The king broke out into a coughing fit after spitting his tea back into his cup, Lord Rodrigue sighed and wiped off some of the tea that landed on him, and Glenn broke out into a laughing fit in the background, all while the children watched.

After he gained some control over himself, King Lambert turned to face her fully. "By, honey, where did you hear such a thing?"

"From several different maids and servants. They said something about me being groomed to be a mistress." The color drained from his face and he gripped her shoulders.

"By, dear, please do not tell your father you were told of such a thing, please!"

She frowned slightly; she didn't like keeping secrets from him. "I don't like lying."

"That is good a thing. But do you like me?" She nodded. "Do you want me to live?" She titled her head slightly but nodded. "Then I beg of you please do not tell your father!" She frowned again. "He will kill me if you do! Please, do not tell him!"

"You are being overdramatic," Rodrigue said before taking a sip of his tea, and he earned the full attention of his friend.

"Her father is Sir Jeralt!"

They stared at each other for a bit before the duke sighed and gripped his friend's shoulder. "Our friendship was nice while it lasted."

"Rodrigue! You need to help me!"

"Well? What did you expect? You have been giving her special treatment, it is only natural for people to jump to such a conclusion."

"Is a mistress bad?" Byleth asked pulling the attention back onto herself.

King Lambert looked back at his friend, who refused to make eye contact. "No…"

She frowned and tilted her head. "Is it some kind of knight?" Once again, he looked back at his friend, who continued to disappoint him.

"Yes, yes, it is!" Glenn finally spoke up from his laughing fit. "You have a special sheath that is just for your lord's personal use."

"Glenn!" both King Lambert and Lord Rodrigue yelled.

"Sheath? Like for a sword? But I thought the Hero Relic for the Blyiddyd family was a lance?"

"Blaiddyd," Dimitri unconsciously corrected.

"Oh, Dimitri has a lance alright." Glenn was practically hollowing at that moment.

"Glenn!" the adults yelled, and the said boy started walking away, laughing like crazy.

"Byleth, I beg of you please do not tell your father about any of this!" It was Lord Rodrigue's turn to ask her such a thing. She frowned but agreed not to in the end.

* * *

I only ever meant for Byleth to have a nickname for Dimitri but given how kids are it only makes sense for the others to want a name. Names are hard to come up with, why did I do this to myself?

When this story was just in the planning stages there were two things I wanted to happen before certain ages were meant, for Byleth I wanted her to have her first kill before she was 13 and for Dimitri I wanted the assassination attempt before he was 9. I was originally planned to write the assassin last chapter but thought that would make that year to bloated which left me a dilemma because this was the last year, I had to write both scenes before the age restrictions. So, I was debating on whether or not I should just push back the assassination and then, I thought what the heck I'll just write an exciting year, not realizing how stressful and terrible it was to Byleth and Jeralt. Oops, but hey at least I got to end the chapter with a stupid sexual innuendo joke. I'm sorry Byleth and Jeralt the next few chapters will be nice…unless I get a new idea.

Time for another small head cannon thing: Faith magic can heal almost any wounds, but it uses a lot of energy from both the caster and patient, so if someone with a major injury gets it healed with magic it will usually leave them exhausted afterwards. Faith magic also doesn't heal away the pain, the body still believes that a wound is there and thus the pain will remain. And how long the pain last depends on age, the size of the wound, the number of wounds healed, and the spellcaster's abilities. Also, scars will remain, but they just won't be as terrible as if the wound was healed with basic medicine.

That's all for now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I just finished two papers and have a third one due soon and yet somehow, I'm able to write such long chapters. I don't know if that is a good thing or if I should probably focus on my papers more.

Hey before you read just a warning the being of this chapter does have abuse and some harsh language. If you don't want to read that than skip to the Ethereal Moon.

Ages:

Byleth: 13

Dimitri: 9 going on 10

Sylvain: 12

Felix: 9

Ingrid: 9

Glenn: 15

Miklan: 16

* * *

**Red Wolf Moon 1173:**

For several years Sylvain had to listen to Dimitri gush about how great his friend, Byleth was. When Dimitri said she was pretty, Sylvain didn't have much expectations, the prince had little interest in women and was clearly biased when it came to her. When Felix said she was pretty, he still didn't think much of it as the future swordsman had yet to take in an interest in women as well. But when Glenn said she had the potential to be a real beauty, that's when Sylvain just had to meet the woman that stole the prince's heart.

It took a while, but Sylvain was finally able to convince his father to let him go to Fhirdiad under the disguise of training with the prince. Miklan had to come along too and though he wasn't happy about it, it was fine as his brother usually left him alone when they were in the capital. It had been a long while since Sylvain was genuinely excited for something.

One look at her and Sylvain knew he needed to update his friends' vocabulary with better words to describe the looks of a woman because pretty just didn't describe her properly. Her long dark hair, deep blue eyes, the tone of her muscles, the curves of her body, and that plump chest of hers that betrayed her in battle, it was all a wonderful delight to his prepubescent mind, she was breath-taking to him. He wondered if there was something wrong with Glenn's eyes because she was already quite the beauty or did, she just grow into her potential in just one year's time? He was curious as to what Glenn would think of her now.

"By, this is my friend-" Dimitri started before Sylvain took over.

Delicately he grasped her hand and marveled for a bit at how rough it was. Almost all the women's hands he held were smooth and soft but hers were strong. He might have thought it was a shame to see such rough hands but with how toned her arms and legs were, it excited him in a way no other girl has done. He carefully brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of it and was disappointed at the lack of reaction he got.

"I am Sylvain Jose Gautier," he said in the smoothest of tone he could muster. "It is truly a pleasure to be in the company of such-" his voice cracked and some color spread across his cheeks because of it. He swallowed before he continued as if nothing had happened, "a lovely lady such as yourself."

He watched as her fingers reached out for the edges of a pretend dress as she curtsied, and he had to stifle a laugh. "I'm Byleth Eisner," she said, with an ever-blank expression. "The pleasure is all mine."

She might have been beautiful, but her lack of emotions was unsettling. From time to time he would see her crack the tiniest of smiles, but they were so infrequent that he might have described it as more of a twitch than anything else. Dimitri knew what she was feeling at any moment, he said it was because her eyes revealed everything, and the ginger haired boy had his doubts. Sylvain tried to read her that way a few times, but embarrassment always won in the end and he had to look away before he could discover anything.

Her patience was incredible. Out of all his friends, Dimitri could be the most demanding and Sylvain understood why, the prince was an only child and was left alone a lot. Before he met Byleth he could only play with his friends a month or two at a time, but to have someone to spend four months with must have been a blessing to him. Dimitri monopolized Byleth's time, the two were rarely apart to the point that they even shared the same bed. Sylvain had considered himself a patient guy, but he was sure he wouldn't have been able to last very long in her shoes.

On top of a demanding prince, Byleth also had to deal with the open hostility from the etiquette teacher. After three years of teaching the poor girl, he would have hoped that the teacher would have gotten over her grievances but nope and Dimitri was none the wiser to the hostility, which Byleth wanted it to stay that way. If the etiquette teacher was terrible to her, Sylvain could only imagine how many other people in the castle were too and yet she never said anything.

Byleth was an oddity in so many ways. She was beautiful, strong, emotionally stilted, patient, and far too observant for the liking of the young Gautier boy. He knew it wasn't something he should have prided himself on being able to do but he did regardless, and that was being able to hide the abuse he received from his brother. He learned how to hide the bruises under clothes, accessories, and even make-up sometimes and he even developed the ability to mask his pain when an injury affected him on being able to do something. Yes, he was proud of that, and yet she could see right through him. During sword practice she noticed that he had an injury on his left side, despite the bruise never being visible. And after one night when his brother was in a particularly bad mood and smashed a training sword into Sylvain's leg, she instantly recognized that he was injured despite his best performance. He had a lie for all her questions, but he could never tell if she believed him or not.

Miklan had just been in a terrible mood, ever since arriving at the castle and Sylvain couldn't figure out why, all he knew was that he was being tormented more than usual. Being away from home was usually seen as a good thing for the both of them as they were away from their father and the reminders that Sylvain bore a crest and Miklan didn't. So, what set Miklan off? Treading on thin ice wasn't something Sylvain liked to do, especially when his new friend was far too observant. Hopefully he wouldn't have to worry about it too much on the Founding Day, with all the celebrations and people around, his brother probably wouldn't dare hurt him, at least not until late into the night and even then he might be too tired to do so. At least that was what the Gautier heir was hoping for.

The day had been going great, Felix had joined the trio as his brother would be competing in the tournament that was held later that day, so all of the Fraldarius family had come to the capital for it. All the children got to marvel at all the events and eat as much as they like and oh boy, could Byleth eat. Up and till that day Byleth had been practically emotionless but her excitement had been very clear, and Sylvain had to admit he liked seeing her like that.

Sylvain didn't think there would be any problems until it was time for the tournament. He found it cute at how Dimitri was pouting when he had to part from them to sit in the royal sittings. Byleth had been her most excited at that time and was almost a bumbling ball of energy and was struggling with her holding back her energy. Despite her commoner background she was allowed to sit with Sylvain and Felix in the noble section and neither boy was going to complain. Everything was going great, that was until Miklan came to take his seat and was visibly disgusted with her. If she had noticed, she didn't show it as she was happily chatting with Felix about his brother's enrollment.

The tournament continued on a she still hadn't acknowledged the hate that was being directed toward her and that angered Miklan more. Sylvain desperately tried to ignore his brother, but it was proving to be harder and harder with each passing moment. Finally, his brother snapped and slammed his foot onto his little brother's, who let out a little cry. All eyes turned to Sylvain as he desperately tried to fight back tears; normally he didn't cry or even whined but that was usually because he had time to brace himself for the attack.

"What is wrong Sylvain?" Miklan asked in an eerily calm tone and a shiver ran down the little brother's spine.

"Are you hurt?" Byleth asked. Her tone had been devoid of emotion, but Sylvain felt her concern with her light touch on his arm. Her arm was violently smacked away by Miklan and if he hurt her she never showed it, but Felix did with his wide eyes that kept glancing between the two older children.

"He is my brother and I will take care of him!" Her eyes narrowed on him, but she said nothing. Miklan forced Sylvain onto his feet but at least the heir was able to mask his pain. "Let us get you to a healer." Both Byleth and Felix stood up as well. "And what do you think you are doing?"

"We are going too," she had said in the matter of fact tone she normally talked in but even to Sylvain it sounded defiant.

Miklan's grip on Sylvain's arm was painfully tight and he feared that his brother might strike his friends. "I will be okay. Miklan can take me," Sylvain said, and he tried his hardest to keep his voice steady. Her eyes narrowed on him and then to his arm and he absolutely hated how observant she was. Why couldn't she just turn a blind eye like so many of the adults did in his life?

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly as she finally looked into his eyes. He found his conviction crumbling under her gaze. He didn't want to get hurt. He hated it when his brother took his anger out on him. But what could he do? It was him and his wretched crest that cost his brother everything. He didn't have the right to deny the beatings, did he?

"I will be okay." Felix slowly sat down but was still watching them. Byleth didn't budge she just watched as Sylvain was forcibly taken away. Sylvain couldn't look at her anymore and just looked at the ground.

Miklan had dragged his younger brother into an empty area on the tournament grounds before violently shoving him to the ground. The crowd cheered right when a swift kick to the stomach connected and it knocked some of the air out of Sylvain's lungs. Several kicks preceded that one and he curled into a ball to try and protect himself a little.

"Why is that bitch sitting with us for?" Miklan yelled with another powerful kick. "Trash like her should know her place! Why the hell are the royal family so enamored with her? What makes that one whore so special? They can have whoever the hell they want! So why do they want that disgusting trash?"

Sylvain had always been the one to be the reason for his brother's anger in some shape or form but to hear that this beating was a result of another made it feel worse. And to hear his brother say such vile things about his friend was sickening. He rolled away from a kick and shakily rose to his feet. The look his brother was giving him was terrifying, but he wasn't going to stop.

"Do not say that about her! Byleth is a good person who has not done anything wrong!" Sylvain shouted as he stared into his brother's eyes. He felt good, strong even. He always imagined standing up to his brother; but he could never justify doing it but standing up for Byleth, he could do that.

"Oh." He had never heard such an intense ire from his brother before and it sent a shiver down his spine when he saw the unadulterated fury in his brother's eye. "You have been charmed by the whore too it seems." His brother slowly made his way over to him and Sylvain took small painful steps back, but he couldn't outpace Miklan and soon he was knocked to the ground with a swift but strong punch to the face. He was pinned to the ground with his brother on top of him and had a blazing fury in his eyes.

"Tell me what is so great about that whore!" Miklan always hit Sylvain, it was something he could take as there was no real threat to his life but that all changed at that moment with Miklan started choking him. He clawed at his brother's arms in a desperate attempt to get him off, but nothing was working. "I cannot hear you, little brother. What is so damn charming about that harlot?"

A swift kick to Miklan's stomach had him flying off of Sylvain, and he was able to catch his breath. Sylvain looked up with tears streaming down his face to see Byleth standing protectively before him. Her back was to him and her fists were bawled tightly. She didn't say anything.

"You!" Miklan screamed out but the cheers of the crowd drowned it out to all but those three. "Why are you here?!"

"So, you are the one, who's been hurting Sylvain," she said in a low tone. "Stop it."

"Stop it? I will do no such thing! He took everything from me! I will do whatever I fucking want to him!" She glanced down at the boy behind her and he couldn't meet her gaze. "Get loss! You above all other people are not wanted here or in our lives!"

She stared him down and he snarled at her, but she didn't back down. He swore loudly but made no effort to come to her, so she turned to look at Sylvan and crouched down. The younger boy's tears stopped but still he couldn't look at her.

She was yanked up brutally by her hair but not a peeped escaped her. "I told you this is our business! You are unwanted!" She glared at him from over her shoulder and he glared back. He slammed her into the ground and put all his weight onto the back of her head. "I am not the useless royal family, a whore like you is not going to be able to seduce your way into our affairs!"

Sylvain weakly cried her name and tried to push his brother off but was just shoved back. The older boy shouted some curses at Sylvain but quickly had the wind knocked out of him with a well-placed elbow strike to the chest. He released her and stumbled back for some air. She was quick on her feet and in between the two brothers. She glared at Miklan, who glared back as he readied himself to strike again.

"Cease this foolishness," Byleth ordered in a tone that Sylvain didn't believed that the normally passive girl could make. "I'm a mercenary, I know how to fight. You will not win." The two stared down each other a bit more before a slew of curses where thrown at the two friends as he left.

When the threat was gone, she turned to face Sylvain who was sitting at the floor watching his brother walk away. Gently she grabbed his attention when he felt her soft touch on his shoulders. With wide eyes he looked at her before hanging his head low. She tried to coax him to looking at her, but he refused.

"I am so sor-" Sylvain tried to say but went silent when she started to speak.

"I'm sorry for not coming sooner," she apologized in the softest tone he has ever heard someone speak to him before. He had tried to stay strong but her gentle touches broke down his barrier and he cried. He hadn't cried in a long time.

When Felix eventually found them, Sylvain's tears had stopped but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. She never said anything and for that he was grateful, but she did force him to go to an infirmary to get treated. She backed up his lie about falling down some bleachers' stairs, but he was sure that the healer didn't believe them as Byleth had her own cuts to her face that suggested differently.

* * *

Sylvain was a selfish boy. He didn't want his own secrets revealed and made Byleth swear to never tell and so far, it seemed like she never would, but he wouldn't keep her secrets. She had been so indifferent to all the verbal abuse that she received that she didn't even realized that his awful brother had called her a whore. She might have been incredibly strong to the point that such things didn't matter but it did not sit well with him. He didn't like her being called such things when she was such a good person and so he told King Lambert.

Dimitri and Byleth stood in front of King Lambert in his office, while Sylvain stood off to the side unable to look at Byleth. It was silent as they watched the king struggle with whatever was bothering him. Finally, he got low to look her in the eye.

"By, honey, I am so sorry," he finally said to which she tilted her head at him. "I should have expected you would be told such harsh things but…" He trailed off no longer able to make eye contact and Dimitri was more than willing to take over.

"Did someone say something mean to you?" Dimitri asked with a frown growing on his face. "Who said it? I will make sure they apologize!" She simple shook her head no and whatever courage Dimitri had deflated. "But why? I do not want people saying mean things to you."

"I am so sorry," the king said again.

She shook her head. "Don't be. I don't care about what people say or do to me," she finally said. Both royals looked at her, the prince with a frown, and the king with sympathy. "Both you and Dimitri have been so kind to me, so I don't care."

"But still…," Dimitri weakly protested.

"If you do anything that would just make things worse." She had addressed that to her friend before turning to his father. "I'm fine really. So long as I have my friends, I'll be okay. Please don't worry about it."

King Lambert sniffled a little before throwing his arms around her. "By, you are such a sweet girl!"

"I do not think the king should be hugging a young girl," Sylvain teased in hopes of lighting the mood a little.

"A father is allowed to hug his daughter!" The king still didn't let go of her and she awkwardly patted his back as she didn't really know what else to do.

"But she is not your daughter."

"Be quiet Sylvain. I always wanted a daughter; I will live vicariously through By. By does not mind, right?"

"No," she simply said as she didn't know what else to do. She glanced at Sylvain, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

**Ethereal Moon 1173:**

Sylvain was only supposed to stay in the capital for a month but with Dimitri's tenth birthday coming up, which meant it was the start of the prince's birthdays to be held at the castle, he managed to convince his father to let him stay another month. Miklan ended up going back home, much to Sylvain's relief. Because Sylvain was staying, Felix got to stay as well along with Glenn, who would also be staying because of his newly appointed knighthood. Dimitri was ecstatic to have his friends stay longer and if Byleth was happy too, she didn't really show it, but Dimitri assured Sylvain that she was.

It wasn't long until the last of the group of friends learned that they were being excluded and was allowed to go to the castle. Two weeks into the Ethereal Moon, Byleth was finally allowed to meet the last friend, Ingrid. She was a small, blonde girl with big green eyes. The young girl quickly took to the older one and they played a lot, without the boys.

"It is not fair!" Dimitri whined as he stomped his food on the ground. "By is my friend!"

"Come now, let the girls have their fun," Sylvain said as he tried to pat Dimitri on the back. "They are each other's first girlfriends." The prince was still pouting. "You get to play with Byleth every night, you guys sleep together after all."

"It is not the same!"

"You can play with us," Felix weakly interjected, "we can play knights."

"I want to play with By!"

Dimitri stomped his way over to the girls and Felix silently shuffled behind. Sylvain sighed before he followed at a much more leisurely pace. The prince stood over the two girls that were kneeling over their snow sculptures; Sylvain had to fight back a laugh at how terrible Byleth's was. Dimitri grabbed Byleth's hand when she waved at him.

"Ingrid you cannot keep By all to yourself!" He pulled the older girl onto her feet who nearly stumbled over him at the suddenness and the use of too much strength. Ingrid quickly got to her feet and grabbed Byleth's other free hand.

"You have kept her to yourself for several years, it is my turn!" Ingrid said as she pulled Byleth back towards her.

"She was my friend first!"

"Well she my friend now!"

Sylvain watched in great amusement as his two friends played tug of war with the older girl. Felix stood off to the side fretting and trying to find the right words to stop the fighting. Ingrid was managing to do a good job at holding her own against Dimitri's monstrous strength, though Sylvain suspected that Byleth might have had something to do with that. The one, who all the fighting was about, just blankly stared off into the distance as she was tugged back and forth.

"What is going on here?" asked an older male voice from behind Sylvain.

"Sir Glenn!" Ingrid cheered and let Byleth go right when Dimitri pulled causing the said girl to fall on him. Right before the fall Byleth managed to wrap her now freed arm around Dimitri's head to prevent him from hitting the ground with it but that did cause her to shove his face into her breast; Sylvain couldn't help but be jealous.

Ingrid happily ran over to Glenn's side telling him all about what she and Byleth had been doing. For his part Glenn seemed to be listening but Sylvain couldn't tell if he cared or not because Sylvain definitely found the conversation boring. He also noticed how the girl was avoiding the topic of how she got into a fight with Dimitri over her new friend.

"Dimitri and Ingrid were fighting over By," Sylvain said after he had enough of listening to Ingrid's rambling and ignored her glare.

"Oh, well you sure are popular?" Glenn teased as he watched as Byleth fret over his liege.

Byleth looked back at Glenn and she felt her stomach flip as their eyes locked. The corners of her lips twitched into her little smile when he walked over to her. He held out his hand and when she placed hers in his, a jolt shot through her body as he lightly pulled her up. She was acutely aware of his hand that had yet to leave hers despite her being securely on her feet.

"Now you two need to learn how to share." Dimitri pouted as he got onto his feet and Ingrid sheepishly looked at the ground. "Good and your first act of sharing will be you guys allowing me to steal Byleth away!" She felt her heart leap into her threat when Glenn's gripped her hand tightly and he pulled her along. All the kids yelled and gave chase. She was left speechless as she looked at Glenn, his hair was blowing in the wind as they ran along, and a large smile adored his face. Dimitri was pretty but Glenn, Glenn was something else and she didn't know why but she liked it.

Byleth flipped the training sword in her hands, as bitter disappointment pulled at the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know what she was expecting but still…She knew Glenn was strong, she saw that at the tournament last month and she had been eager to test her skills against his and yet…

Glenn had been watching the door to the training ground with a large grin upon his face. He hadn't spared her a glance since they entered, adding to her disappointment. She stood on her side of the ground, eager to get the sparring session over with but he was too fixated on the door to noticed her. The doors were finally busted over, and Dimitri stormed in with the others close behind.

"You cannot steal By!" Dimitri said in the toughest voice he could muster.

"Oh? But I did and I did it right in front of you too." The older boy leaned down until he was eye level with the other. "You are going to have to do better than that if you want to protect her, little prince."

With wide eyes, Dimitri rushed towards Byleth and stood protectively in front of her. Laughter erupted form the older boy causing Dimitri to pout. She stood back and silently watched as she still tried to figure out her emotions.

"Sir Glenn!" Ingird cried as she rushed to his side with a large smile. He smiled softly down at her and patted her on the head. "I am sorry for stealing your new friend."

The disappointment Byleth felt quickly turned sour. She gripped her sword too tightly as she tried to swallow away the new bad taste in her mouth. As much as she wanted to look away, she couldn't, she felt trapped, like she was under a spell or something.

The trance was broken when she felt a light touch on her arm. "By, did he hurt you?" Dimitri quietly asked. Shaking her head, no, she looked down at her friend. Glenn's eyes might be mysteriously captivating but she for sure preferred Dimitri's pretty ones. Unknowingly she copied the knight's interactions with Ingrid and got the same reaction.

"Okay, play time is over," Glenn called from his side of the ground. "All babies off the field. It is time for the big kids to play." Both Dimitri and Felix glared at him, but he didn't acknowledge them. "I have been waiting to challenge By for a long time, so you all need to hurry up and get out of the way."

Pouting the prince gave her some words of encouragement before moving out of the way. She watched as the other stood off to the sidelines excitedly waiting for them too start. A clear of Glenn's throat reminded her what she was doing. Dimitri had watched her spar a numerous time but now that she had a little crowd, she felt a little excited and nervous at the same time.

Both in position Glenn and Byleth were staring each other down, ignoring Sylvain's impatient complaints. When he shifted to the left, she was quick to shift to the right. She wasn't going to make the first move, her father always taught her to wait and let her opponents come to them and to learn from them. And that was what she planned to do but the nervous energy that flowed through her made it difficult and she had to spend some of her concentration to focus on just gripping her sword and not spinning it around to release some of the energy.

With a smirk Glenn struck first, a simple downward swing but it was full of power. Her muscles cried at her for her unpreparedness for blocking such a powerful strike. He raised his sword for another strike, and she took the opportunity to do a quick thrust forward, forcing him to step back. Capitalizing on the new founded distance she allowed herself another thrust but this time she leapt into it giving her attack more speed. He smacked her sword away and she rolled with it and they were nearly back at square one.

He was once again the first to make a move. He swung wide first to force her to step back and then he copied her with his own little forward thrust with a leap. Slamming her sword down onto his, she halted his assault. Using his sword as a path she traced hers along it to swing at his neck that he narrowly avoided. Both jumped back to create some breathing room.

He rushed at her again with another downward blow. She was ready that time or so she thought until the weight of strike was much more than she expected. From the smirk he wore and the glow she noticed form the corner of her eye, she concluded that his crest activated, and she got to feel just how powerful the Fraldarius crest was. She was barely able to hold off the attack but couldn't block the second strike that was to her left side. She bit her lip to silence the cry that was threatening to escape her as she dug her heel into the ground to brace herself for a counterattack. With a quick twist of his body he was able to avoid the worse of her swing, but she still managed to land a strike against him.

Swiftly she jumped back to create some distance. Her side cried out with every little breath she took but she refused to show it. She resumed her stance, and even put a bit more weight onto her injured side to promote her bluff, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up for much longer. A smirk danced on Glenn's lips as he returned to his stance.

Blyeth went on the offensive much to everyone's surprise. Jeralt had insisted she use her opponent's strength against them to make up for her lack of strength, but he was sure to teach her to go on the offensive as well. Small, swift strikes were her signature, pushing him back and never allowing him for a chance to counterattack. It would be quite a frustrating strategy to contend with if she had the strength to back it up, but she didn't and the protest from her wound was getting harder to ignore.

It was for a brief moment when her assault halted when the pain in her side got too much and she winced. Glenn seized the opportunity to smack her sword aside and to thrust forward. She managed to dodge it with a clumsy stumble, and he wasn't going to let another chance opportunity go to waste so he slashed at her injured side again. She raised her leg, just in time for it to take the blunt of the attack and while he was distracted, she slammed her own sword down on his shoulder.

It was his turn to stumble back. The grip on his sword weakened as holding it became not only painful but difficult as his shoulder was spasming. She was worse off as it became even more difficult for her to remain standing, let alone to fight. It was all or nothing now for her. She gripped her sword and charged forward with the last of her strength.

She had planned to leap into the air and swing her sword down but the injury to her leg prevented her from doing nothing more than a little hop. It still gave her some power to the blow at the very least. Right when her sword clashed with his, a bright glow emanated from her chest and a strange energy flowed from her into him, preventing him from doing anything.

A scream ripped out of Byleth as she dropped to the ground clutching her chest. The watchers were quick to rush to her side, but it took Glenn a second to recover once the strange energy left him. Dimitri stood between the two older kids, glaring at the older boy.

"What did you do to By?!" Dimitri demanded. He was trying to remain strong by Byleth's constants screams of pain were causing him to tremble.

"Nothing," Glenn absentmindedly answered as he was far too distracted at Byleth's thrashing to really acknowledge the prince. "It must be her crest." He had heard stories of crest causing a light stinging feeling upon activation, but this was too much, even if it was for a possible major crest.

"It burns!" Byleth cried, pulling at her tunic in a small but failed attempt to relieve some of the pain.

"Sylvain," Glenn started but his eyes never left her, "go find a nurse or something." Sylvain was quick to follow the order and rushed out of the room. Glenn bent down and placed a hand on her, in order to at least stop her from thrashing out and possibly injuring herself further. It took her a moment, but she eventually stopped, sort of. "It will be alright. Someone will help you."

Byleth stopped to look up at him and he could see she was sweating a lot more than before the whole situation started. He brushed her bangs aside so he could touch her skin and was surprised at how hot she was. She really was burning. Forgetting to remain calm for the others, he quickly scooped her up into his arms and left, leaving the others behind.

* * *

Byleth awoke to darkness but she also felt at peace. Slowly she looked around at the nothingness until a light filtered through and illuminated a throne and a long set of stairs. She looked back behind her but only the darkness remained. With nothing else to do she decided to climb the stairs.

A top the stairs was the throne and on it rested a young girl. She was adorned with several accessories that looked nice against her dark dress and long green hair. Byleth called softly for the girl but when she didn't stir, she tried again but louder. With still no response she resorted to lightly pushing her and some of the girl's hair fail back revealing a long, pointed ear.

Byleth could have sworn that someone called her name but when she looked back, she saw nothing but the ever-lasting darkness. When she turned back to look at the girl again, she was gone, along with the throne. Soon she found herself falling into the abyss.

* * *

"By!" Dimitri shouted right when he saw her eyes fluttered open. He was about to throw his arms around her when a large arm stopped him. Lazily, her eyes traced up the arm and discovered that it belonged to Glenn, who was muttering something to Dimitri that she couldn't catch. When he noticed her looking at him, he smiled at her.

"Hey," he greeted softly. "You sure do know how to give everyone a fright over the activation of your crest."

"Crest?" she asked and was surprised to hear how horse her voice was. Dimitri was quick to pour her a cup of water.

"Yeah, you activated your crest during the duel," Ingrid said from a little bit down from the bed.

"It glowed really bright," Felix mumbled, beside Ingrid. Sylvain stood in the back next to Cornelia and he had a complicated expression on his face.

She stared at everyone for a bit before remembering the glow and then the burning sensation in her chest. She peaked down her tunic and was sort of able to make out her crest but not enough to satisfy her. She began to pull up her tunic until Glenn stopped her.

"Woah! I know you are eager to see your crest but wait until the men leave."

"But I want to see her crest!" Dimitri said and Felix nodded.

"Maybe when you are older and lucky than maybe she will show it to you." Both Dimitri and Felix pouted as they were escorted out. "You too Sylvain."

"Aw, Byleth does not mind if we see her crest, right?" Sylvain laughed but stopped when she nodded yes. A massive blush spread across his cheeks as he stared at her. His mouth went dry from the anticipation.

"You are the last person allowed to look at her crest," Glenn said as he wrapped an arm around Sylvain's neck and dragged him out.

Once the door was closed, she practically ripped off her tunic. Almost in the center of her chest was a large mark that looked unfinished as well as unfamiliar. It sorted of looked like a wing but based off the burning sensation she felt, maybe it was a flame or at least half of one. She traced the mark before looking at Cornelia, who smiled but shook her head.

"I'm sorry sweetie but I don't recognize that crest," Cornelia said and Byleth pouted.

"Glenn said your crest might be a Crest of Goneril or Cichol given its ability but," Ingrid stared at the strange crest, her voice slowly trailing off. "It does not look like any of the ones I have seen in any of the books I have looked at."

Byleth traced her crest again and frowned. Why wasn't it the Crest of Seiros like her father's? If she was going to have a crest, she would have liked for it to match her father's, even if it was a bad symbol. The fact that no one in the room seemed to know what her crest was, was unsettling a little.

* * *

Byleth's crest had been a hot topic amongst her friends, with Sylvain mostly staying quiet through the whole thing. After she left the infirmary and headed to the library to learn more about her crest, she had yet to discovered anything besides what she already knew, it was a major crest with the power to halt an opponent from counterattack against her and that was all. Glenn told her that it was a powerful crest and that she was lucky, but she didn't feel like she was. She didn't have anything against crests, in fact as a mercenary she saw them as beneficial but the lack of knowledge about hers just wasn't sitting well with her.

Night had descended and along with it a blizzard, so all the kids were huddled together in Dimitri's room to play some card games. Between each round Dimitri would bring up her crest trying to match what crest it might be but none of the ones he mentioned matched hers. Felix would chip in his opinion when it came to his turn, but he added very little. Ingrid would mention how big and pretty it was and slightly brag about how she got to see it, whenever Dimitri pouted. Sylvain was quiet and would say he was just focusing on the game when someone commented on it.

There was a knock on the door, and it was quickly opened by King Lambert. "I am sorry to trouble you all but I need to borrow By for a while," he asked as he stood over his son.

She nodded and was about to get up when Dimitri stopped her. "In a minute dad. We are almost done with our game," Dimitri said as he held up two cards to her face. She glanced at the king, who simply nodded. She stared into her friend's blue eyes and he stared back. His eyes shifted ever so slightly to the right, so she pulled the card from the left. "No, not that one!" She pulled the two of diamonds the final card she needed to make a pair, leaving the prince with the last card, the Joker, making him the old maid.

With Dimitri being the final loser to the game, it came to an end and she followed King Lambert to a small secluded room. Inside were Cornelia and her father, she was happy to see that he made it back with the blizzard going on. The door was shut behind her and the king gestured for her to have a seat. Once she was seated, she could feel all the tension in the air.

"Your Majesty, may I please know what is going on?" Jeralt asked as he stood next to her. "Has my daughter done anything wrong?"

"No, Byleth is as sweet as ever," King Lambert said, and he offered the pair a smile. "It is just earlier today, Byleth activated her crest for the first time."

Jeralt raised an eyebrow and looked down at his daughter, who couldn't meet his gaze. "Did something happen?" Jeralt asked and his voice was strained. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I assume she has the Crest of Seiros, which isn't so unusual."

"Her crest…Her crest is most unusual," Cornelia spoke after settling on a word and grabbed everyone's attention. "It doesn't match any known crest. It's much larger than a crest should be. And the reaction she had to its activation was intense and unheard of as well. And…" She paused to look at everyone briefly before settling on Byleth, "it hasn't completely awakened yet, I believe."

The room was silent as everyone stared at the drawing of Byleth's crest that Cornelia presented. Byleth's fingers ghosted over where her crest was. The grip on her shoulder tightened and she looked up at her father, who was staring at the drawing.

"What do you mean incomplete?" Jeralt asked, his voice low.

"I believe there is more to her crest than what has already been demonstrated. Only half of her crest seem to have appeared, so I believe that there is more to her crest than what we know."

The father's grip on his daughter's shoulder increased to the point that it was starting to hurt, but she didn't say anything. "What are you trying to get at?"

"A crest with more than one ability is unheard of! It is unnatural," King Lambert added as he looked Jeralt in the eye.

Jeralt's grip became too much for her and she cried out. Quickly he let go and apologized while he discreetly stood in between her and the other adults. A heavy silence fell over the room.

"Jeralt," King Lambert called softly, "did the church do something?"

The mercenary gripped the arms of the chair, Byleth was sitting on. He stared at her, or more accurately through her, but she flinched regardless. His breath was caught in his throat and he didn't dare turn around.

"What makes you think the church did anything?" Jeralt's voice was incredibly tensed.

"Your departure from the church was sudden and mysterious." The mercenary gritted his teeth but still kept his back to the king. "I know that you told Byleth to avoid anyone from the church." He finally looked at his daughter, who was trying to shrink into herself.

"Have you ever considered that maybe I just got tired of working for the church and just want to avoid them?"

There was a brief moment of silence until Cornelia spoke, "we know about her lack of heartbeat." Jearlt whipped around so fast he nearly knocked the chair down with his daughter on it. He stood defensively in front of her, staring down the others in the room.

"Jeralt, peace!" King Lambert said and held up his hands. "We are not your enemies. I value Byleth as if she were my own daughter. I truly want to help you and her." The heavy silence returned with a full force.

"Very well," the king said after a while. "Jeralt, I swear I will do all that I can to protect you and your daughter. The only ones, who know of her crest are us and the children and I am sure that they will be willing to keep it a secret if it means keeping Byleth safe." And with that the king and the mage left.

The silence was suffocating. The father kept his back to his daughter with slumped shoulders. She wanted to reach out to him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her vision blurred with the tears she would not be able to shed.

"Please don't take me away from Aster!" she cried. He quickly turned around to face her, his expression a complicated one. "I want to stay with Aster!" He threw his arms around her into a tight embrace. Her tiny fist clung to the back of his tunic. "King Lambert is good. We can trust him! So please let me stay!" Her final plea broke his heart and he hugged her tighter.

"I'm so sorry Byleth," he cried as he buried his face into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry for being a terrible father and being unable to protect you properly.

Her shoulder was quickly becoming damp, but she didn't care. "I'm sorry for being difficult! If it wasn't for me, you'd-" She wasn't allowed to finish that thought as he broke their hug to look into her eyes.

"You are not a burden! You never were and will never be! You are the reason why I can keep going!" He pulled her back into a tight embrace. "I love you!" She clung to him again mumbling her own declaration of love between sobs and he held her tighter. "You are my precious, baby girl. I will always love and protect you." She sobbed as she buried herself into her father's chest.

**Guardian Moon 1173:**

The rest of the Ethereal Moon had passed by as a blur to Byleth. All her friends had agreed to keep her crest a secret, but Sylvain was not happy about that and had voiced his complaint but only once after that he was silent about it. She didn't want to trouble them with it but there was little she could do about it. She had started to hate the mark on her chest and found herself unable to really look at herself anymore.

At the beginning of the Guardian Moon all her friends, besides Dimitri, were supposed to leave but since Ingrid's birthday was at the beginning of the month their departure was pushed back a week later. Ingrid was given a small birthday party and Byleth was excited to finally be able to attend a friend's birthday. Since she had so little time now with all her friends, Byleth was unable to make a gift for Ingrid so she gave the girl a pretty seashell she had found on her travels through the Empire. It had been one of the few personal items she could carry around, but she was happy to give it to her new friend and promised to bring more the next time she went to a beach.

It was time to depart and everyone was reluctant to say their goodbyes. Felix clung to Dimitri; Glenn stood off to the side laughing as he watched his little brother fail miserably at keeping his tears in check. Ingird was with Byleth making all kinds of plans for when they would next meet avoiding a fair well. When Sylvain mentioned she should start saying goodbye the blonde girl clung to Byleth's arm.

"I got a great idea! You should come with me to my home! We do not have much but I am sure my family will be happy to have you for the little time left you have in the kingdom," Ingrid happily said, and Sylvain sighed.

Hearing that Dimitri broke free from Felix grasp to grab onto Byleth's other arm. "No, she is staying with me. I only have twenty-three days left with By, and I am not sharing!" Ingrid pouted and still clung to her already captured arm. The two stared each other down, before a laughing Glenn pulled Byleth free.

"Being popular must be so difficult," he teased as he rubbed the top of Byleth's head. She had her little smile on as she felt her stomach do flips. "You all will get to see each other again. We know our precious, little mercenary's schedule." He patted her head again before flashing her a smile that captivated her. "Next time you come back, you better be stronger, you hear. I want a good match." Unable able to speak she merely nodded her head with great vigor, earning her a laugh and a final pat.

"Come along Ingrid, we will be taking you home." Reluctantly the girl said her goodbyes but also made Byleth promise that they would see each other again.

Tearful goodbyes were shared (mostly by Felix) and Dimitri and Byleth stood at the gate waving goodbye until the others were out of sight. She was going to head inside when the prince stopped her by lightly pulling at her sleeve. He was pouting and staring off at the direction where everyone had left in.

"You are always smiling at Glenn," he mumbled so quietly that she almost didn't hear it. "Is it because he is strong?" he asked suddenly and stared into her eyes. She didn't answer as she was trying to comprehend the first thing he said. "I will get stronger! I will be stronger than Glenn! Just you want and see! You will always be smiling for me!" Having said his peace, he rushed inside leaving a confused Byleth behind.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was supposed to end after the Ethereal Moon, but I just couldn't leave off on a sad note when I promised that Byleth and Jeralt would have happier chapters after the last one.

Since I couldn't really find a way to integrate it into the chapter here's the nicknames Byleth came up with for the others.

Felix: Canna

Ingrid: Daisy

Sylvain: Poppy

Sylvain didn't really want a nickname, but he didn't stop her from giving him one.

Glenn: Didn't want a nickname so he didn't get one, which worked for her because she felt weird on giving him one.

Byleth's nicknaming sense is simple, it's all about flowers because it's easier than trying to make a play on names for her. Both Dimitri's and Felix's came a result of their eye colors while Ingrid's and Sylvain's are based on their hair color.

I was trying to mention Dimitri's birthday and how it's done in the story for the past two chapters, but I could never figure out how to handle it organically, so I'll just add it in the author's notes.

For the royal children of the Kingdom before their tenth birthday, their birthdays are celebrated at various nobles' houses as a show of support and trust from the king. But after the tenth birthday, all celebrations are done at the castle so that all eligible, potential partners are able to gather in one place to show off for the prince or princess.

Byleth wasn't able to attend the earlier birthdays because most of the nobles didn't want to host for her and because Jeralt wouldn't let his daughter be too far from him (neither Dimitri or Byleth knew of his disproval) as for all birthdays after the tenth she's not allowed to attend because of nobles' outcry and because she's not allowed to be potential marriage candidate for the prince.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: What am I doing? Writing another massive chapter when I should be writing a paper instead. Oh well, enjoy the fruits of my procrastination.

I was trying to keep one year's visits under one chapter but if I did it with this year than I would just have one randomly super long chapter so here's part one for the year 1174.

Ages:

Byleth: 14

Dimitri: 10

Edelgard: 10

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1174:**

At the mere age of thirteen, Byleth was given her first personal contract as a mercenary. It was from King Lambert so she didn't really count it, but her father said she should be proud to have impressed a king enough to be given a contract. She still had her doubts about being really that proud of it but with the contract she would be able to finally help her father and that was good enough for her. She was excited as well as terrified as the contract only required her which meant she would be working alone and would spend a few months alone without her father for the first time in her life.

"Relax," King Lambert said, and she stood attentive. She let go of the hem of her tunic in an attempt to hide her nerves. He walked to the front of his desk and leaned against it. He smiled down at her and it helped her a bit.

"Congratulations," she blurted out. When she realized she had interrupted him she quickly bowed as an apology and he laughed.

"Thank you." He patted her head. "As I was saying my fiancé has a daughter and I would like for you to be her friend." She tilted her head and looked up at him. That didn't really sound like a job for a mercenary. And why did it require her coming so soon? It was already agreed that the Jeralt mercenaries would be back for the Giant Wolves seasons.

"A lot of stuff has happened to her and she could really use a good friend." She had no problem with becoming the girl's friend, but she still didn't understand why it had to be her? She was sure if the girl really needed a friend than Dimitri would gladly be one. And if the friend had to be specifically a girl than why not Ingrid?

"You are wondering, 'why me' are you not?" Her eyes widen slightly, and he laughed. "It is alright. It is an unusual request." He stood up and his expression took on a more somber one. "The truth is right now everything is a bit chaotic and there is a chance that she might be targeted." She immediately stood attentive at that and he smiled at her for that. "I do not expect anything to really happen but since an assassin was able to sneak in a few years ago, I decided to be a bit cautious."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I would very much like for you to never have to engage in combat but if the worse was to come I feel comfortable with leaving Dimitri and Edelgard to you." She nodded with a firm nod.

He spun her around and started leading her out of the room. "Let us go greet them, shall we?" he sang with a smirk on his face.

"Your Majesty, where do you think you are going?" asked an older man with his hands full of paperwork. The king directed her into the opposite direction of the man and gave her a light push to increase their pace. "Your Majesty!"

"A father needs to spend time with his children."

"But the paperwork!"

"Children!"

She was going to say something, but he didn't allow it and hurried her along. He guided her to the courtyard, where Dimitri and a young girl about the same age as him with long, brown hair was practicing dancing. Byleth was going to rush over to them but King Lambert held her back. He watched the children with a soft smile on his face for a bit, before turning to her with a grin. He stood in front of her, blocking her view of the kids. She tried to peak past him, but he stopped her. Holding a finger to his lips, he got her to stand still.

"Dimitri," he called, and she noticed his body tremble with his held back laughter. She could hear the sounds of the kids running towards them and frowned that she couldn't see them. "I have a surprise for you!"

"A surprise?" Dimitri asked.

"Yes, and you are going to love it." His body shook again with his unshed laughter. She could hear Dimitri stomp with excitement. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am!"

"I do not know if you are."

"Dad!"

"Okay, if you insist." King Lambert hopped to the side to reveal Byleth. It took the prince a moment to process everything. With wide eyes, Dimitri glanced between his father and her several times before screaming her name and squeezing her into a bear hug. She had to smack his back several times before he would release her and allow her to breath. The father watched with great amusement as his son circled her asking a lot of questions but never giving her the chance to answer a single one. Edelgard watched with a stern expression.

"El!" Dimitri yelled after he asked all his question and still didn't give her a chance to respond to any of them. He grabbed Byleth's hand and lead her to the other girl. He positioned the two girls in front of each other. "El, this is my friend Byleth! By this is my friend Edelgard. I know you two will get along well!"

"I am Edelgard von Hresvelg," the girl said with a curtsey and the stern expression never left her face.

The older girl wanted to tease the younger one about having a difficult name to pronounce as she often did with Dimitri, but she got the feeling that it wouldn't go over so well. "I'm Byleth Eisner," Byleth said with a bow, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Aw, what happened to your cute, little curtsy?" King Lambert asked.

With a slight coloring in her cheeks, she looked away from everyone. "Poppy, said I don't have to curtsy if I don't have a dress," she mumbled.

"Poppy?"

"That is Sylvain's nickname," Dimitri said.

"Ah. But I liked your little curtsies."

"Your Majesty, it is not proper to tease a lady," Edelgard criticized and the king stood straight. "And Byleth," she started as she turned to the other girl, "do not mumble."

"Yes!" Byleth said as she stood attentive.

"It is also not proper to slouch or look away. You need to work on your form." Byleth could only quietly nod along to her lecture.

Laughter from the king freed her for a bit. "Well, I shall leave you kids alone for now. Have fun." He waved goodbye as he left.

Edelgard's stare was intense and Byleth now understood why people felt uncomfortable when she stared at them. She tried to smile but the girl's eyes narrowed, and the smile was quickly lost. She glanced at Dimitri, who was just smiling happily. She wanted to sigh but didn't as she was sure she would get a lecture if she did. Dimitri and the others were so quick to be her friends that she realized that she was never the one to try and start a friendship before. She was clueless as to where to start.

"You are a mercenary correct?" Edelgard asked. Byleth nodded and received a small glare as a response so she was quick to voice her answer. "It is most unusual to see a mercenary given so much privileges as you have been given." The older girl was silent as she didn't know what to say to that. After all these years she still didn't know why she was treated so special and she could never bring herself to ask King Lambert either. If Edelgard was going to have issues with that then Byleth was sure that the friendship was doomed, and she didn't know how she was going to tell her employer that she failed.

"That is because By is my friend!" Dimitri came to her rescue. "Just because I am a prince does not mean that I am anything special.

"Actually, it does," Edelgard was quick to counter and he frowned at her.

"So, what if I am a prince? By can do so many more things that I can. She is super strong, she protected me from an assassin a few years ago. She is really skilled at making things from leather. She always makes me all kinds of special gifts for my birthday. She is also really smart! And," he glanced at her for a bit and his cheeks became enflamed, "she is also really pretty."

A warmth blossomed in her chest. She patted his head like she usually did but instead of getting the usually smile she got a frown instead. She tried to look at his face, but he kept looking away.

"I see…," Edelgard said glancing back and forth between the two in front of her. When the attention was back on her, she stared at Byleth, who in turn matched the stare. "You have some lofty praise to live up too." Byleth nodded. "Do not disappoint."

The older girl said nothing as she watched as Edelgard grabbed Dimitri's hand and lead him back to where they have been practicing earlier. She slowly followed behind, keeping a small distance. She didn't know what she was going to do. To have her every little action be scrutinized was going to be incredibly frustrating. How was she going to be friends when she was sure the other girl hated her? She wanted to sigh but fought against it.

She watched from the sidelines as the princess practically forced the prince to learn how to dance. Whenever he glanced at Byleth, he was assaulted with a lot of criticisms, which brought his attention back to his dance partner. Edelgard was free to look around though, because whenever Byleth slouched she would receive her fair share of criticism. Byleth had often wondered if she had chosen the right decision to be a mercenary instead of a knight and if constant criticism awaited her as a knight then she knew she chose right.

Byleth didn't know how long they had been practicing, but she did know that her back was starting to hurt from sitting up straight for too long. She decided she was going to check the perimeter. It was her job to do so, so yeah, she was being a model employ. It wasn't like she was using that as an excuse to escape the ever-watchful eyes of Edelgard; nope she was just being a good little guard. After excusing herself, she quickly scampered off before something else about her could be criticized.

Being in Fhirdiad was hard sometimes. Every winter had proven to be a challenge for her, and she had hoped at some point she would get used to them but nope, it didn't help that she was weak to the cold to begin with. But the summers in Fhirdiad were nice, not to hot, prefect for just walking around. Maybe she could convince the others to go for a walk. That would save Dimitri and maybe help Edelgard relax.

Everything was so peaceful that she nearly forgot what she was doing. She believed she wouldn't have to worry about any threats; the assassin had been a special case that both Dimitri and she made themselves vulnerable too. Taking a moment, she allowed herself a small break and sat in the hedges to enjoy the gentle breeze and the smell of the flowers. She decided that Fhirdiad in the summer was the best.

"Did you hear? The king brought the prince's mistress back early," said a woman from behind the hedges.

"No, and with the current controversies going on now. He's just asking for trouble," said another woman.

She didn't bother looking over the hedges to see who it was as she was sure it was just some maids passing by. Her cheeks did burn at the word mistress. Now that she knew what the word meant, it made her feel awkward around Dimitri when she remembered it. She knew she wasn't being groomed to be one, but it didn't help to not make herself feel uncomfortable sometimes; and it made her question some of King Lambert's actions. She buried her face into her knees, she didn't want to admit it, but it did hurt to know that no one expected her to anything more than a mistress. Why couldn't she be considered a queen candidate?

"Oh my!" a new voice spoke, and it was much closer. She shot her head up and looked up to see a beautiful woman before her. The lady had long brown hair and lavender eyes, she wore a stunning red dress. Byleth had never seen a woman so beautiful and yet she looked so sad.

"What are you doing there, child?" It was only then, did Byleth realized she had tucked herself into the bushes out of habit from all the time she played hide and seek with Dimitri.

Quickly she crawled out of her little hiding spot and bowed. "I'm sorry for startling you," Byleth said.

"Where is your mother?"

"She passed when I was just a baby."

The lady took on an even softer look as she made her way over to the young girl. She pulled a leaf out of Byleth's hair. "I am sorry to hear that dear." She then proceeded to smooth down Byleth's messy hair.

"It's alright…I didn't really know her…" She felt weird admitting it but as hard as she tried, she had a hard time feeling anything for the woman that she never met. She didn't know if it was because she was just heartless or another one of her emotion issues. She was afraid to tell her father about it, in case he come to hate her.

The lady patted her head. "Does your father miss her?"

"Yes, but he doesn't really talk about her often." She's only heard bits and pieces about her mother. Like that she liked tea and flowers and in a way that did help her feel a little closer to her. "He says I look like her."

"You must be a wonderful treasure to him then."

"Really?" Byleth looked into the lady's eyes suddenly, startling her a bit. "I've always been afraid that my looks bothered him."

"And what makes you believe that my dear?"

"Because he would always look sadly at me from time to time." Unable to maintain eye contact any longer, Byleth looked at the ground.

The lady cupped the young girl's face and gently made her look up. "He must have loved her dearly. And I am sure that you and looking like your mother is a wonderful thing for him."

"Really?" Byleth's voice was barely a soft whisper.

The lady smiled down at her and she finally didn't look so sad. "I am positive. You should ask him." Unable to find her voice, Byleth could only nod.

Releasing her the lady made her way over to the little table the accentuated the area and Byleth realized she needed to break her little habit quickly if she chosen bushes over a table. All of the woman's actions had been graceful and mesmerizing to watch. A perfectly, trained smile stayed on the woman's face as she watched some birds enjoy themselves with the little bird bath that was not too far away. Slowly the lady's attention shifted back to the young girl, who only now realized how rude she was for staring and not introducing herself.

"Forgive me," Byleth was quick to say and bowed. "I'm Byleth Eisner."

The lady's smile became a bit more genuine and she gave a small little bow of her head. "I am Patricia von Arundel. It is lovely to meet you." Byleth had heard that name before but she couldn't quite remember where but before she could recall a new voice had broken through the little peace.

"By! There you are!" Dimitri shouted as he ran over to her. When he noticed Patricia, he bowed. "Hello mother." He smiled as the term rolled off his tongue.

Byleth was quick to bow deeply when she finally realized who she had been speaking too. "I am so sorry for my rudeness!"

Slight chucking from Patricia caused Byleth to slowly raise her head. The future queen consort had a genuine smile on her face, but the sadness still remained in her eyes. "It is alright, my dear."

Patricia's voice was soft, and her small laugh was melodious. On top of that she was beautiful and graceful. Byleth was nothing like that or at least that's what she thought. The young mercenary wanted to laugh at herself for thinking she could ever rise above being a mistress in people's mind. Her dark thoughts were broken when she felt Dimitri grabbed her hand.

"Mother, would it be alright if I took By away?" When the queen consort gave her consent Byleth was quickly whisked away.

She was brought back to the center of the courtyard where Edelgard was waiting at a table with some tea. Dimitri pulled out a seat for Byleth to sit at and eagerly waited for her to sit. She tilted her head at him as had never done such thing before. She glanced at Edelgard, who merely took a sip, maybe this action was some kind of new etiquette training for Dimitri. She sat down and was about to push herself in when he did it for her but with a bit too much gusto and he accidently pushed her into the table. After recovering from the little blow to her stomach, she looked up at him and thanked him and his face turned a bright red, but he refused to acknowledge it.

The tea was nice and peaceful. If either Byleth or Dimitri slipped in their mannerisms, Edelgard didn't say anything. When she wasn't under the fear of being threaten with a lecture, Byleth was finally able to look at the princess, who looked a lot like her mother.

"It is rude to stare," Edelgard said as she gracefully placed her tea back onto its saucer.

"I'm sorry," Byleth was quick to say. "I was just thinking that you are going to grow up to be really pretty." Edelgard's cheeks turned red and she tried to cover them by raising a hand to her face.

"El is going to be really pretty!" Dimitri chimed in excitedly. "Dad says I am going to need to get stronger soon so that I can chase away all the boys, whatever that means." He then turned to Byleth with a slight shade of pink coloring his cheeks. "I will do the same for you too, By!"

"Then you will need to get stronger really quick as I am sure Byleth is already very popular with the boys."

"What?" He looked at Byleth with a frown. "Is it true?"

The older girl tilted her head and then rested it on her knuckles. "I guess so," she said as she recalled how more boys were eager to talk to her whenever she was in a town. Dimitri gripped her arm painfully as he stared at her with a complicated expression that she wasn't sure what to do about it. "A man did propose to me in the last town I visited." He gripped her arm tighter that she had to smack it to get him to loosen up a bit.

"Are you…are you going to marry him?"

"No, my father chased him off." He released a sigh of relief and his gripped relaxed a bit before tightening again.

"What about anyone else?" There was a panic to his voice that she didn't like. "Is there anyone that you do want to marry?" He wasn't able to look at her as he mumbled his question.

"I don't think my father is going to let me marry anyone yet."

"But is there anyone you want to marry?" He still couldn't look at her. "Like…like Glenn maybe?"

"Glenn? He hasn't proposed so what's the point of talking about it?"

"Because I need to know if you want to marry him!" He was finally able to look at her and his face was as red as a tomato. Frowning slightly, she tilted her head at him and Edelgard sighed.

"I am embarrassed from just watching," she quietly said. "Byleth," she paused to wait for the other girl to look at her, "do you like this Glenn person?"

"Yes," the mercenary answered quickly, and Dimitri deflated into his chair. Edelgard narrowed her eyes on the woman.

"Do you like prince Dimitri?"

"Yes," Byleth answered just a quickly and Dimitri tried to hide his face by resting it against the table, but his ears betrayed his blush. "I also like you, Edelgard."

Edelgard simply shook her head and took a sip of her tea. With his head still resting against the table Dimitri groaned. Byleth rubbed his back and was asking if he was alright but he refused to speak and tried to worm his way out of her touch. Glancing around the older girl waited for someone to explain what she was clearly missing but no one did.

With the little tea break over, it was back to dance practice, but Dimitri had even less motivation than before. Byleth sat the table watching as he kept getting critique after critique and he seemed like he was putting no real effort to correct himself. With a huff Edelgard ended their dance and beckoned for Byleth to come over.

"For your next lesson, you will be teaching Byleth the basics," Edelgard ordered.

"What?" Dimitri yelled with his face bright red. "I do not want to teach By to dance!" She frowned slightly. She didn't really want to learn how to dance either but to be so strongly rejected hurt. It was the first time she was ever told something like that from her best friend. "I mean, Iwantdancewithyoubutbeingsoclosetoyouisaproblem…" he mumbled everything so quickly and quietly that neither girl was able to make out what he said.

"Nonsense! Now teach Byleth to dance!" She practically shoved the older girl into him.

He was reluctant to even look at Byleth but a glare from the princess at least had him facing his partner, but he didn't do anything else. A clearing from Edelard's throat had him lightly placing his hands on the proper spots but he maintained a large distance. Unsure of where to place her hands, Byleth just let her hands dangle at her side until the princess put her hands in the right spots. Before Edelgard left she shoved them closer together and planted his feet firmly into the ground before his face came into contact with Byleth's breast. His face was practically burning at that moment.

The prince was completely silent, forcing Byleth to try and figure out the steps as they practiced. Edelgard would mention a few things for the other girl to do, but it was mostly telling her to not look at her feet. Dimitri just stared straight ahead at Byleth's chest, with a determined look. The mercenary found the whole thing to be frustrating but kept quiet.

"Enough," Edelgard finally said and Byleth finally allowed herself to sigh. "Prince Dimitri, it is repulsive to stare at a woman's chest!"

Dimitri's face turned the brightest yet and he practically shoved Byleth away. "I-I was not staring!" The brunette stared him down. "Honest! I-I was just concentrating!" He glanced at Byleth and his face was practically melting off at that point. I-I have to go!" And with that he took off running as fast as he could, and not once did he glance back at the girls.

Resting a hand on her hip, Edelgard sighed, "I was just trying to help."

"With dancing?" Byleth asked and the other girl just simply stared at her for a bit.

"Are you really this dense?" The mercenary tilted her head and the princess sighed again. "That boy has more work cut out for him than I realized."

**Verdant Rain Moon 1174:**

Verdant Rain Moon had turned out to be a really busy month. The first big event to happen was on the sixth which was Byleth's fourteenth birthday. And to say Dimitri and King Lambert were ecstatic to celebrate it would have been an understatement. When Dimitri practically screamed "happy birthday" to her, first thing in the morning, she had been tempted to hide away until the day passed. It was the first birthday she ever had where her father wasn't around, and she feared that she would be lonely, but the royals saw to it that she wouldn't; she hardly even had a chance to be alone that day.

The kitchen had been ordered to cook all her favorites, which honestly could have been whatever the chief wanted to cook as she liked all the castle's food. The number of gifts she was showered in was overwhelming, she had no idea where she was going to start, let alone do with all the stuff afterwards; she did get a new shinny sword, so she was happy. When it came time for her to blow out her candles and she was presented with a massive cake, she officially decided that they had gone too far.

"Happy birthday, my beautiful daughter!" King Lambert sang as he hugged Byleth, who was indifferent to his affection.

"You have a daughter now," Byleth said blandly.

"Well, I wanted two daughters."

"Now, you are just being greedy."

"Yes, I am!" The king laughed as he released her at his son's constant instance.

"Happy birthday By!" Dimitri said after he shoved his father out of the way. He then presented her a messy, wrapped gift. Carefully, she unwrapped the gift and inside was a leather-bound book. Upon opening the book, she discovered that all the pages were empty but were filled with pressed flowers. "I wanted to make you something like you always do for me, but I kept breaking everything. But you like flowers so I hope you like this."

Clutching the book tightly to her chest, she smiled her little smile at him. "Thank you!" She was practically beaming when she said that. "I love it!" It had been her most favorite gift that she ever received. With a bright red face, he couldn't look at her any longer, but his large smile was very present.

Edelgard was the next to present her gift and it was nicely wrapped. Inside was a pink headband that she quickly put on. "As a mercenary, it will do you some good to not have your hair in your face," Edelgard said. "I apologize that I was unable to give you something more grand."

"No, this is perfect! Thank you!" She flashed Edelgard her small smile and the princess mirrored Dimitri's actions but with a smaller smile. "Ah, Lilac smiled!" The princess' face flushed more, and she tried and failed to suppress her smile, so she resorted to hiding it behind her hand.

The queen consort wasn't present for the birthday celebration, but she did seek Byleth out later that day. She gave the young girl a beautifully, ornate hair clip. Byleth thought it was much to grand for her and believed that it would look much better on the queen, who smiled and dismissed her claim. Afraid that she would break the clip, Byleth rarely wore it but still put it on from time to time to show the queen that she liked the gift and if she wanted to feel pretty that day. She didn't know how to properly wear it so she usually would just clip her bangs out of the way but whenever she ran into the consort, the older woman would fix up Byleth's hair to better suit the clip. She never said it out loud, but the mercenary liked those little moments with the queen.

* * *

Byleth's birthday had been one of her favorite days ever. The joy didn't last for very long though, as only a week later both Dimitri's and Edelgard's uncle, Lord Volkard Arundel had come to stay at the castle; Byleth did not trust him. No one seemed to hold her opinion of the man, so she kept it to herself, less she upset someone. She didn't like not trusting her friends' uncle, but she didn't know what to do with the primal fear that would settle in her, whenever he laid eyes upon her. She made sure to never be left alone with that man and would cling to Dimitri, whenever he was around.

Fortunately, it seemed like Lord Arundel held little interest in her as he would barely acknowledge her, whenever he checked on the royal children and that was fine with her. Unfortunately, he did check on the children a lot, especially Edelgard. She wanted to chalk it up to him just being worried about his niece and yet she couldn't. Every time he came around, she just wanted to take Edelgard and run away but such an action would only get her killed and so all she could do was check on the girl after he left, which only confused the princess.

On the seventeenth day of the Verdant Rain Moon was when everything truly spiraled out of control. That day had been like any other day of that month, Edelgard was teaching a reluctant Dimitri to dance while Byleth watched from the sidelines. It was nice and peaceful; that was until the assassin magically teleported into the middle of the courtyard. Luck was somewhat on the side of Byleth as the assailant was teleported in next to her, but he gave her very little chance to react and he ran straight for the children.

Byleth threw her dagger at the man's back, slowing him down enough for her to attempt to get close and strike. Nimbly he rolled to the side and pulled out her dagger and tossed it to the ground. She stood protectively in front of her friends.

She bit her lip as she desperately tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't send the children away because of the chance of another assassin teleporting in. And there was the lunacy of the assassin's actions that threw her off more. He teleported into a castle's courtyard in the middle of a bright day would have been suicidal and yet his timing was absolutely perfect as no other soul was around. But how was he supposed to know that? A sickening feeling boiled in the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it.

Unable to think up much of a plan she ordered the royal children to stay behind her and they agreed without a fuss. She knew that she didn't have to defeat the man, she only needed to last long enough for someone to finally arrive and make a scene. Of course, that would only be possible if no one else teleported in. She was quick to ignore that thought as she didn't have the luxury to worry about unfounded fears.

She stood her ground refusing to budge from her spot and the assassin seemed to be doing the same. The mask that the intruder wore, bothered her greatly, she couldn't get a read on him and his silence only added to her worries. The man should have been in a hurry, right? The longer he took to kill the children the greater his chances of being discovered, right? Or was he buying time until another assassin arrived? Gritting her teeth, she dug her back foot into the ground and tighten her hold on her sword. What was she supposed to do?

The assailant made the first move by casting fire. She muttered an unknown Alymran curse, one of her father's mercenaries liked to use, as she slashed the fire out. She had little experience when it came to fighting spellcasters and she wasn't going to get any time to adjust because while she was distracted with the spell the man had rushed forward and slashed at her, right when the fire dissipated. With no time to react she tried to step back but bumped into Elelgard, which allowed him to slash across her chest and ripped her tunic open a little. In an attempt to counter she tried to jab the hilt of her sword into his side, but he skillfully dodged out of the way.

A shiver ran down the mercenary's spine. The blasted mask still shielded the assailant's eyes from her, but she could feel the air around him change. He charged again but this time at a greater speed. She swung her sword down, but he blocked it with his dagger and before she could pull back, he grabbed the blade and channeled thunder magic through it. She cried out as her entire body tensed, forcing her to release her weapon. She did not let the moment go entirely in his favor as she managed to ram her fist into his side forcing him to drop her sword but in return his dagger slashed across her cheek.

After his dagger came into contact with her face, she grabbed his wrist to prevent him from escaping her knee that crashed into his stomach, and finally she was able to get a sound from him, a gasp for air. His free arm grabbed her hair and tossed her behind him, removing the last little barrier that protected the children.

Much to her surprise and delight the man came after her. Grabbing her by the neck he slammed her against the ground, which his other hand tore more of her tunic. She reached for his mask, but he just tightened his grip on her neck shifting her attention away. Suddenly a sword was swung at him and it forced him off and to back away.

"Stay away from Byleth!" Dimitri ordered standing between the assassin and her. He held her sword before him in a stance she had drilled into him, long ago.

It took her a moment to catch her breath before she could get onto her feet. Never taking her eyes off the man she carefully took her sword back and stood before Dimitri. She glanced at Edelgard to see if she was alright and noticed that her normally strong confidence was gone, as she watched Byleth with wide, tearful eyes.

Caution be damned, Byleth decided. If the assassin was waiting for another to come than she needed to defeat that one now. She charged; her sword tucked back for a quick strike when ready. The mage tossed another fireball her way, and she was forced to slash at it, less Dimitri get hit by it, which left her open to the enemy. He was aiming at her side but she sunk her arm down to take the hit instead. She slammed the hilt of her sword against his head, crackling the mask a little.

The man stumbled back, and she pressed forward. She swung down and her crest activated upon impact with his dagger. She could feel the strange flow of energy leave her and travel into the man, momentarily paralyzing him. Finishing the fight once and for all, she twisted her sword upward, slashing him across his chest but she was careful to keep the cut shallow as so not kill him. The man dropped to the ground unconscious.

Dimitri and Edelgard were quick to run to the older girl's side, once she dropped her guard. Dimitri was at her side to help support her when she was about to collapse. She patted Edelgard's head in hopes of ending the young girl's tears.

"What is going on here?" a loud, angry voice yelled as it entered the courtyard. Lord Arundel along with two knights walked over to everyone. Upon noticing the unconscious man, a knight rushed over to it, while the other rushed to the kids.

"Byleth defeated an assassin," Dimitri said but remained glued to her side.

Lord Arundel walked over to them and looked down at Byleth, who in turn fought the urge to squirm under his gaze. "Girl," he started as his eyes drifted to her torn tunic, "what sort of crest is that?"

She glanced down at her chest and her eyes widen at just how much of her chest was revealed, and nearly all of her crest was exposed. Dimitri quickly removed his little shoulder cape and gave it to her; she wasn't able to wear it properly, but she was able to at least cover her chest. She gave him a thanks before addressing the older man.

"It may look like a crest, but I assure you it's just a tattoo," she said, reciting a lie her father and engrained in her, in case her crest was ever scene. "When I was younger, I got a nasty scar down by chest and in order to cover it up, I got a tattoo."

He said nothing as his eyes narrowed and she struggled to maintain an indifferent expression. Saying nothing he took out a handkerchief and roughly rubbed it against her cheek. To everyone it looked like he was trying to help her, but she knew differently, but she didn't know what he was doing. She watched as he carefully pocketed the now blood-soaked handkerchief. Her lips thinned into a thin line as she watched him order for someone to get a healer and walked away; not once did he ever properly check on his relatives.

The knight that was checking over the children was the one to fetch a healer, while the other remained behind to keep an eye on the things. Edelgard gave Byleth a pointed stare as Dimitri helped Byleth sit down. The prince fussed over his friend, who tiredly rested against him.

"Why did you lie?" Edelgard finally asked and Dimitri froze. "That is a crest. I saw it activate and everything."

"El….it is complicated," Dimitri settled on saying when nothing else came to his mind. The princess folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"My crest is dangerous," Byleth said as she matched Edelgard's stare, "In order to protect me it was decided that I should keep my crest a secret. I'm sorry for not telling you."

Dropping her hands to her side Edelgard let out a small sigh. "You did save my life so I shall keep it a secret too." Byleth nodded as she could feel her drowsiness take over. "Oh Byleth," the said girl only slight perked up at her name, "thank you for saving me." She nodded her head before slipping away into unconsciousness.

* * *

The next day, Lord Arundel caused an uproar over the assassin and there was little King Lambert could argue against. Byleth kept quiet throughout the entire proceedings that she was forced to sit through as she was a witness. A nagging suspicion had been bothering her after the lord showed up after the assassin had been dealt with, and that was that he was somehow involved; of course, she had no proof to back up her claim. But the assassin had struck at the time that the lord would usually visit; a time that she realized, upon looking back on it, was a time when the courtyard was usually empty. And then there were the knights. He never had knights with him before and yet the one time they actually needed them; he had some? It was far too much of a coincidence for her liking but after the assassin managed to kill himself with a hidden poison, she had no substantial proof to back up her claim so she couldn't say anything.

Two days after the uproar, Lord Arundel was returning to the Empire with his niece. He would not listen to any objections and was quick to remind everyone that Edelgard was a princess of the Empire first and foremost. Both Dimitri and the queen consort were devastated of losing Edelgard, but the queen hid it incredibly well; only showing the tiniest hint of emotion when she had run across Byleth in a hallway later that day. Edelgard remained strong during the whole goodbye but Byleth could tell that it was all a front.

The mercenary stood a bit way back from Dimitri and Edelgard, watching as he gave her a dagger. She twirled her own gift in her hands, a hastily made leather patch with lilac engraved onto it as she didn't really have any time to make anything to extravagant. She patiently waited for her turn.

A shiver ran down her spine when a large hand wrapped around her shoulders to grasp it. Instantly, she recognized the rings on the hand and slowly she looked up to see their owner, Lord Arundel. His hand slide along her shoulders as he stood in front of her, blocking her view of her friends. Placing both hands on her shoulders, he effectively sealed her in place. With wide eyes all she could do was helplessly stare up at him.

"Child, you have demonstrated that you are quite skilled," he said as he increased his grip ever so slightly. "Your skills would be better suited for the Empire. Join me."

"I can't," she said. She was glad that she was able to say anything, even if her voice was incredibly weak. When his eyes narrowed, she squeezed her gift but managed to maintain eye contact.

"If it is money, you desire then the Empire will be able to pay you handsomely. Far better than what the Kingdom will offer." His grip was strong, and she struggled to maintain eye contact.

"I-I can't," she repeated, and her voice was so soft she feared he didn't hear it.

"Can I help you with something Lord Arundel?" King Lambert asked from right behind her. She nearly cried out of relief at the sound of his voice.

Lord Arundel's grip left her and was replaced by King Lambert's gentle one. Slowly the tension left her body and she was able to look away from the lord to the king, who was staring at the other man with an unreadable expression. After a few seconds, the lord finally steeped back giving her the space she so greatly desired.

"She proved to be quite skilled and I was just seeing if she would be willing to join us in the Empire," Lord Arundel said.

"Have I not provided enough knights for your journey?"

"You have, Your Majesty. I was just thinking about what to do after they return home."

"I see. Well you will have to forgive me but Byleth has been placed in my care so I cannot allow her to journey with you." That was the end of that conversation.

After the conversation Byleth was able to give Edelgard her gift and say her goodbyes. She felt horrible after the princess left. She felt like she had abandoned her friend. Edelgard had never once voiced a negative thought about her uncle and Byleth was really hoping that she was just getting the wrong impression of the lord. But she knew better, she knew that Edelgard was keeping a lot to herself…She prayed to the goddess to watch over her friend that night.

* * *

That night Byleth had packed her bags and was ready to go say her own goodbyes. With Edelgard gone, her contract was finished so she would need to return to her father. So, with her one bag pack, she stood in King Lambert's office, who looked amused, with Dimitri, who was not happy about losing another friend.

"What are you doing?" King Lambert asked as he rested his head on the palm of his hand.

"I'm here to say goodbye," she simply answered.

"Why?" She furrowed her eyebrows at that question.

"Because my contract is up?"

Chuckling he walked around his desk to stand before the children. "By, your father is still in Alliance territory, right?" She nodded. Her last letter from her father stated that his mission had been taking longer than expected but everything was alright. "You do not honestly believe that I am going to let you travel there all by yourself?" She frowned. "Your father has agreed to let you stay here until his return during the Wyvern Moon."

"I get to stay with By longer!" Dimitri yelled and captured her in a bear hug but was quick to release her and was beat red. He had been acting weird since their reunion but because of Edelgard she never had a proper chance to ask him about it.

"Alright you two, now run along. I have a lot of work to do," King Lambert said as he escorted them out of his office. "By, this will be your home for the next few months, please make yourself at home, okay?" She nodded and said her goodnights.

Now that she was staying Dimitri carried her bag and was being the ever-good gentleman as he escorted her back to her room. Starting that year, they were no longer allowed to share a bed together, so she had been given her own room. It wasn't that close the prince's as he would have liked but it was the first room, she could ever call her own so Dimitri didn't object.

It was supposed to be a simple night. She was going to unpack, write a letter to her father about everything, and go to sleep; simple, except for the kidnapper. For most of their walk Dimitri had taken the lead but for one little instance she had charged a head of him in a little tease and ran right into the arms of a man that had just teleported in right before them. A hand wrapped around her mouth silencing her and she could feel a dark pull of energy surrounding her. In a last-ditch effort, she threw her hand out towards Dimitri, who latched onto it. It was only thanks to his monstrous strength that the kidnapping failed, but the man escaped.

The separate sleeping arrangements were immediately disregarded as she was once again staying in Dimitri's room, now with two knights stationed just outside. For about a week everything was fine, she was even starting to feel a bit comfortable enough to be left alone, Dimitri did not feel the same. With no information about either the assassin or the kidnapper coming to light, the prince never left her side.

It took her a bit of time to drift off to sleep at night, but she was finally able to, but it rarely lasted for long and that night gave her a good reason for the short sleep. She was awoken to a sweet-smelling cloth being pressed against her mouth. With wide eyes she stared forward but all she could barely make out was the back of a sleeping Dimitri. Her instincts kicked in as she stopped breathing and pulled out her dagger than she kept under her pillow. She jabbed the dagger into the arm of her attacker, freeing herself. She quickly tried to get up but stumbled back falling onto Dimitri, waking him. She realized that she had reacted to late and wouldn't be able to do anything at that moment.

Strong arms wrapped around her as the prince pulled her towards him. She shouted for the guards and within seconds they were storming into the room. One tossed a hand axe at the intruder, preventing him from escaping but just like what happened with the assassin he was quick to silence himself by ingesting a poison. Byleth tried to remain conscious but whatever she had breathed in had won over her will. She drifted off to the desperate cries of Dimitri begging her to stay awake.

King Lambert had acted quickly and sent both Dimitri and Byleth to the Fraldarius castle in the dead of that night. He had complete confidence that Rodrigue would be able to handle the sudden request and keep the children safe. A noticed was then sent to the school of sorcery to have every high-level mage come to the castle and construct a magic barrier around it.

The next day Byleth awoke in a strange bed. She barely allowed her body to adjust to awakening before she bolted out of the room and crashed against someone. Panicking she reached for her dagger that was gone and the color drained from her face. Strong arms held hers sealing her in place.

"Whoa there, calm down," said a familiar voice. She looked up and finally noticed who she had collided into, Glenn. "I guess having the prince share the bed with you wouldn't be enough to calm you after waking up in an unexpected place. I told them." Her eyes widen and she glanced back at the room, she just left, and she could just make out a groggery Dimitri waking up. Her eyes flew back to Glenn trying to comprehend everything. He smiled down at her and rubbed her arms.

"It is going to be alright now. You are at the Fraldarius castle. Do not worry, you are safe." All the fear and tension left her body all at once and she collapsed against Glenn. He laughed before picking her up and carrying her back to her bed. Gently he placed her on the bed and smoothed some of her bedhead down. "I will not let anything bad happen to you, while you are here. I promise." She felt her cheeks warm and her stomach was twisting itself around, but she felt at peace.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I think I'm just being unnecessarily cruel to Byleth. I keep promising her easier chapters and then bam, a dark side takes over me and I give her a rough time.

To everyone who liked, read, commented on my story. I want to offer you my sincere thanks. I'm starting a new period in my life and it has been stressful, but you all have given me the motivation to continue an. So, thank you all so much!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Quick before another professor can assign me another paper to write, have a chapter! So, this is part 2 of the year 1174. I had originally split this year in two because I didn't want it to be super long but then realized that I only had like 1 and half ideas for the rest of the year and that didn't really work so I decided to add in a bunch of little ideas to the Horsebow Moon to add some length. I hope you guys like how I wrote the Horsebow Moon part.

Ages:

Byleth: 14

Dimitri: 10 going on 11

Felix: 10

Sylvain: 13

Glenn: 16

* * *

**Horsebow Moon 1174:**

**Third of the Horsebow:**

Dimitri understood why Glenn was spending so much time with Byleth. He truly did. With two failed abduction attempts, Byleth needed a guard. Glenn was a powerful knight and he was someone, who she was familiar with, so he made the perfect guard for her. Dimitri honestly understood that, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

On top of Glenn almost constantly being nearby, Dimitri was also displeased with the room arrangements. Byleth had been assigned a room next to Glenn's, while he was given a room next to Felix's; that wasn't next to hers. But that was okay, he could live with that, but it was her constant smiling that was starting to get to him. She was always smiling when Glenn was around and would quickly stop on the few occasions, when he wasn't; Dimitri didn't get such special treatment like that from her. On top of the smiles was that Glenn practically owned all of her attention, and he had to fight to get her to spare him a few seconds of it before she would quickly go back to looking at her knight.

As frustrating as all that was for the prince, it was bearable at least compared to what Glenn stole, Byleth's first blush. She had never blushed for him before and yet somehow the older teen managed to get her to blush. That was just downright unforgivable! How could she share a first with someone that wasn't him?!

Dimitri angerly sat on the floor watching as Glenn told Byleth something that caused her to blush. Whatever the knight said that got such a reaction from her, she would never tell him, which would just infuriate him more. He wanted to know what words that got her reacting in such a way. Pulling out some grass he threw it at the offending view, but it did little to hide it. Huffing he fell back and glared up at the sky.

"What has gotten you so steamy?" Sylvain asked as he poked his head into the prince's view.

"Sylvain?!" Dimitri shouted as he quickly scrambled onto his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"My trip to the Fraldarius' castle had been planned months ago. Though, I suspect Lord Rodrigue might have forgotten, given yours and By's sudden visit. He seemed quite flustered to have another guest. I would ask 'why you two are here', but Felix informed me that I am not allowed to know."

Because of the two failed kidnapping attempts only a select few people know about the reason why the crowned prince and Byleth had been suddenly whisked away to the Fraldarius castle. Not even Felix had been informed as to why they were there, but he didn't care too much as he got to spend time with his friends; well that's what he felt until Glenn monopolized Byleth's attention and Dimitri was too busy glaring at his brother to play. In order to keep their location a secret, it was advised that it would be too risky to contact Jeralt, until everything was settled. Byleth had been understandably upset by that ruling and that was another reason why Dimitri tolerated Glenn as much as he did.

"Felix, why did not you tell me you were going to meet Sylvain, I would have gone too," Dimitri said.

"I did," Felix huffed and folded his arms over his chest. "But you were to busying glaring at Glenn to listen to me." Dimitri blushed.

Laughing, Sylvain threw his hands around Dimitri's shoulder and pulled him closer. He looked at the two older teens talking, and he snorted when he returned his attention back to his friend. "Aw, is our little prince jealous?" Sylvain asked in a silly voice.

"I am not!" Dimitri said with a bright red face.

"The little prince is finally taking an interest in girls!" Dimitri turned even redder. "And what a girl to take an interest in! I am so proud!"

"Sylvain!" Dimitri pushed off the older boy, who was still laughing.

It took a few seconds for Sylvain to finally stop laughing, much to the prince's annoyance. "You know, if you really want her to lose interest in Glenn, you should tell her that he is engaged to Ingrid. She will probably stop giving him attention and might even avoid him too."

Dimitri frowned and his blush vanished. "No, I will not tell her such a thing. I do not want to risk hurting By, even in the smallest sense." Sylvain's eyes widen at that comment. "Besides," his face turned bright red again, "I want to win her affection. I want her to only look at me because she wants too…"

Sylvain whistled and once again wrapped his arm around Dimitri. "I have been eagerly awaiting this day! I can finally help you woo a girl!"

"Really? You will help me?"

"Of course!"

Felix groaned as loudly as he could. "I do not want to do this. I rather practice my swordsmanship," he said and folded his arms across his chest.

"Come on Felix. Do not be like that." It was Felix's turn to have the Gautier heir throw his arms around his shoulders. "We have to help our dear friend get the girl."

"But he already has the girl! By will go with him when they return to the capital."

"Not like that. I mean we have to help him win By's heart."

"I rather do anything else than that." Felix threw Sylvain off of him. "If you want to practice sword fighting, I will be in the training grounds. Do not bother me for any icky girl problems." And with that Felix left without another glance back at the two.

After instructing Dimitri to follow his example, Sylvain walked over to Glenn and Byleth. He noticed that Byleth was really crushing on Glenn, since she was visibly showing signs. He also realized that Glenn might have a crush on her, by the way he kept the distant short between them and the way his eyes lingered on her. Sylvain didn't know how he felt about Glenn's feelings. Glenn was engaged to Ingrid. It was only because they were both crest barring nobles, so he hated it for that, but Ingrid was still his friend. And he knew Ingrid had feelings for Glenn. Byleth's crush was harmless, in his opinion, but if Glenn felt the same than maybe he should do something to put a stop to it? But Byleth was also his friend…

"Poppy!" Byleth excitedly said and he frowned. He didn't mind her giving him a nickname, but did it really have to be an embarrassing one? She wore her little smile as she looked him over and he shuddered under her gaze. "Is everything okay?"

It took him a second for him to figure out what she was asking. "Yes, I am fine." Ever since the incident last year, his brother had abused him less and for that Sylvain would be eternally grateful to her. He still couldn't bring himself to fight back the few times it did happen but to him that was nothing compared to what he and his crest did to his brother.

Her eyes narrowed and he cocked an eyebrow. "You are not lying, are you?" She leaned closer to him and his cheeks warmed at their proximity.

"No," he squeaked, and took a step back but she grabbed his waist and he froze. With eyes locked she gently squeezed his sides and he had to suck in a deep breath, less his hormones go crazy. Her fingers glided upwards, pulling his shirt up and he could feel a rush of blood flow through his body with only one destination in mind.

Glenn quickly stopped her by grabbing one of her arms, and a strangle cry of thanks escaped Sylvain. He focused his thoughts onto boring and ugly things, and only half listened as Glenn asked her what she was doing. It took Sylvain a few long, deep breathes before he was comfortable continuing.

He winked at Dimitri, his signal to let Dimitri know to watch closely before he bowed gracefully. He reached for her hand with his right, but she quickly grabbed his left and brought it up. It took him a moment to process everything until she poked his left palm. He sighed through his nose.

"You activated your crest," she simply said and poked his palm again.

"Yes." He pulled back his hand and hid his palm from all their views. "It activated earlier this year."

"Congratulations."

"Yes," he said dryly.

Shoving his left hand behind him, he signaled to Dimitri again. This time with no other distractions from her, he bowed gracefully again and grabbed her hand. He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a small kiss on the back of it. Just like the first time, he got no reaction from the girl (a small blow to his pride) and got a glare from the boy, he was teaching. Rolling his eyes, he nudged the prince to repeat his actions.

Nowhere near as gracefully, Dimitri did an over extravagant bow and both Sylvain and Glenn struggled to hold back their laughter. The prince's normal bow would have been enough, and Sylvain had thought the prince would have realized that, but it seemed the suave boy was going to have to be more explanatory with his lectures. Dimitri awkwardly grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips but before he could kiss it his face broke out into a massive blush. Tossing her hand aside he proclaimed that he couldn't do it.

"Is there something wrong with my hand?" Byleth asked, inspecting her hand with a small frown.

"No! There is nothing wrong with it!" Dimitri was quick to say. She only frowned at him and he let out a small cry.

With a smirk, Glenn took the "offensive" hand and brought it to his own lips for a small kiss and Byleth blushed; a small one but a blush, nonetheless. While Sylvain did find Byleth to be incredibly attractive, he didn't hold any strong feelings for her outside of just being friends, but even he had to admit he felt jealous of that. What did Glenn have that he didn't?

**Ninth of the Horsebow Moon:**

With the recent failed kidnappings, it had been decided that both Dimitri and Byleth needed more training to better protect themselves and neither one of them was going to complain about having to miss out on etiquette classes for it. Sylvain, on the other hand, did, as visiting his friends was supposed to be a break from all the training. At least seeing a sweaty and flushed Byleth was a pleasing sight and he knew Dimitri agreed by the way he always stopped to gawk at her.

The lesson that day would deny both boys such a pleasing sight as she didn't work up such a sweat during bow practice, but they did both agree that she was adorable when she pouted. She stared at her target, littered with arrows but not in a uniform style that she would have liked. Sure, she did better than her friends, but that wasn't enough as she needed to do better, especially when bows made for perfect weapons to counterattack mages. She couldn't understand why she was doing so poorly; she had already been skilled with a bow as she was an excellent hunter.

"Excellent work Byleth," the instructor commented as he walked by. He was a fairly young man, who recently became a knight for the Fraldarius' family. His instructions were simple, and he didn't seem to judge her, so Byleth liked him enough.

"It's weird. I'm usually much better than this but I've been struggling lately, and I don't know why," she said. She tried to line up another shot, but her breast kept getting in the way of her properly aiming and so the arrow flew slightly more to the left than she wanted. She pouted.

"Ah yes," he coughed into his hand. "Archery can prove to be quite difficult, especially for women with…with…," he paused to carefully choose his words, "endowment, such as yourself."

She studied him for a bit before figuring out what he meant. She cupped her breast and held them up, frowning down at them. Blushing, he had to look away.

"Byleth, it's improper for a lady to hold up her breast like that." His mumble went unheard.

"I heard stories of female warriors cutting off a boob to better help them in battle. Do you think it will help if I do the same?" She held out her breast more to him as if would help her point somehow and he groaned.

"I, violently reject that idea!" Sylvain shouted as he quickly made his way over to her and Dimitri was not far behind. Felix slowly made his way over. "To damage such a fantastic body as yours would be a crime against nature!"

"I agree!" Dimitri said. "Your body is…" His face turned red. "IsperfectandIdonotwantyougettinghurt."

"What is the big deal? If it will make her a better warrior than why should she not go through with it?" Felix asked as he finally joined them.

"Felix?! How could you ask such a thing?" Sylvain asked with an overdramatic gasp. "Her body is a work of art! To damage it would be sacrilege!"

"So? Making her a better warrior is better suited to her mercenary life."

"By, I do not want you to hurt yourself," Dimitri said, ignoring the new argument that was starting between his male friends. She frowned but relented that she wouldn't do such a thing.

"Now that's taken care of, Byleth please let go of your breasts," the instructor said and sighed in relief when she finally listened. "I will end today's lessons. You will be free to practice after everything is cleaned up."

Wrapping an arm around Dimitri's shoulder, Sylvain pulled the smaller boy back when Byleth left to assist with the cleanup. "Here is your chance lover boy," Sylvain said ignoring Felix's complaints in the background. "Impress By, with your strength and challenge her."

"But she always defeats me with ease," Dimitri said as we watched Byleth struggle with carrying out a large target board.

"Hey, this could be your chance!" Sylvain gave Dimitri a thumbs up and he shoved the prince forward.

The preteen boy stood in the middle of the training ground, clutching two training lances. He was waiting for Byleth to finish cleaning. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his erratic heartbeat. Frowning he didn't understand why he was so nervous to spar with her; he had done it with her numerous times already. Briefly their eyes locked, and she nodded at him before she went about picking up arrows. His heartbeat skyrocketed at that brief moment and he felt a strange energy wash over him. How did she always make him feel funny?

Like a hawk, he watched her. Because she always came during winter, Dimitri rarely got to see her outside of multiple layers but lately she had been wearing a simple top with shorts and it allowed him to marvel at her legs and see such tempting skin. He groaned quietly as his thoughts were going down a path he didn't like, and he started to try and think of something else but then she bent over and gave him a nice view of her bottom. The lances in his hands snapped when he felt a familiar heat pull in his groin. All attention was on him and he tried to maneuver himself in a way so people, especially Byleth, wouldn't see his growing excitement.

"The spar has not even started yet and you are already breaking things?" Sylvain asked as he walked over to Dimitri, who was desperately trying to twist his body away from the oncoming Byleth. Much to the prince's relief, Sylvain understood what was going on and managed to stop her from coming any closer. The match was postponed.

**Twelfth of the Horsebow Moon:**

With Byleth requesting for lessons to combat mages, Lord Rodrigue had requested for a retired instructor from the School of Sorcery that lived in a nearby town to come and teach for a few days. Both Dimitri and Felix had little interest in magic. Sylvain was trying to act indifferent to his interest. And Byleth was eager to learn something that would make her a better fighter.

The instructor was an older woman, who was smiling down at the children. She began her lessons by going over the intricacy of magic and how Reason and Faith magic differed. The boys were struggling to stay focus and awake. Even Byleth with all her interest, was nodding off.

Suddenly, the lady clapped her hands and grabbed everyone's attention. "Are there any questions?" she asked, and all the children vigorously shook their heads no. "Alright then, let us begin."

Byleth was quick and ready and Sylvain pretended to be slow but was much faster than the other two boys. The last two boys fought back their groans as they got into position. Dimitri did start smiling when he noticed his crush start bouncing on her feet.

The instructor handed everyone a small, clear crystal. "I want you to focus your energy on the crystal. The change of the color and how bright its glows will determine your affinity for magic."

Everyone stared at their crystals a bit before concentrating on them. Both Byleth's and Sylvain's crystals quickly glowed a bright red and white colors. Dimitri's was the next to glow a bright white color. It took Felix's a few seconds to glow, but it finally glowed a dim yellow.

"Excellent!" She took Dimitri's crystal first. "Your Highness, you have a strong affinity for faith magic. You could make an excellent healer if you ever choose to be one." He blushed a little.

She took Felix's next. "Your affinity might not be as strong as the others, but you can still use magic, which most people can't. Congratulations." He smiled at that as Glenn couldn't use magic, so he had at least one thing he was better than his brother at. "It seems your affinity lies in thunder magic."

She then turned to both Byleth and Sylvain, who were looking at her expectantly. "My, you two have quite the affinity for both fire and Faith magic. It is quite impressive. Either of you could have your choice of magic schools to follow."

Sylvain was smiling widely but it quickly turned to a frown when he gave back the crystal. He threw his hands behind his head and pretended to not care. "The heir of House Gautier has no need to learn magic," he said as casually as he could. "The only thing they need is raw strength and a crest so that they could wield the Lance of Ruin."

In the end, only Byleth attended the lessons the old lady taught for the brief time she was there. And while the lessons were long and dry, Byleth did manage to learn a lot and found out that she a particularly strong affinity for Faith magic. After every lesson she would end up teaching a bit to Sylvain in private.

**Twenty-first of the Horsebow Moon:**

"Is that a Pegasus?" Byleth asked, eyes lightening up when she saw the magnificent creature in the stables.

"Yes, it is," Glenn said after following her gaze. She wished she had passed by the stables sooner.

"Can I pet it?" She looked up at him, her hands tightly clenched as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her eyes were big and the little smile she wore, was maybe slightly larger than normal, or at least it seemed that way to him.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he was at the mercy of his own smile. "When you look at me like that, how can I refuse?" Cheering happily, she raced on ahead of him and he lagged behind, chuckling.

She stood outside the stable staring up at the beautiful, snow white creature, who stared back. She had only seen such a creature from a distance, and she had longed to see one up close, the moment didn't feel real to her. Holding up her hand to the Pegasus, the creature nuzzled its nose against it, and she gasped loudly. She knew a horse's nose was soft, but a Pegasus' had to be a hundred times softer. She wanted to feel more, to rub her face against its fur, to feel its wings, but she didn't want to be greedy.

"Be careful By, it is mean!" Felix said rushing out of his, Dimitri's, and Sylvain's hiding spot. Glenn grabbed the back of his brother's collar and stopped him from advancing further.

"It is fine," Glenn said watching as Byleth continued to pet the Pegasus' nose. "Pegasus are gentle to women. By, will have no problems unless you get closer." She stood on the tip of her toes so she could reach more of the creature. With a soft smile, Glenn made his way over to her.

"Would you like to ride her?" Glenn asked from a little bit back behind her. Her eyes had been the fullest of life he had ever seen, and he went over to unhatched the stable before she could answer, but the creature tried to nip at him. "Quit it, I am trying to make the girl happy. You want to do that too, right?" He could have sworn that the Pegasus was glaring at him before walking out of the now open stable. The Pegasus walked over to her but not before whipping its tail at the boy's face. "Stupid creature," he mumbled under his breath, but his annoyance vanished when he saw it nuzzled its head against Byleth's, who looked like she could just die from happiness.

"I do not think this is a good idea," Felix said as he and the other boys joined but kept their distance.

"It will be fine. She is just going to walk up and down the stables." He turned to her and discovered that she had already climbed onto the Pegasus. "I was going to ask if you needed a saddle, but it looks like you got this already."

"By, you look…," Dimitri started strongly in the beginning but began to mumble until Sylvain nudged him, "beautiful." She smiled down at him and his own smile was accompanied by a blush. "You would make a fantastic Pegasus Knight!" Smiling, she mimicked a pose she believed a Pegasus Knight would make and he cheered.

"Why does House Fraldarius have a Pegasus?" Sylvain asked. "Are they not expensive because of their rarity?"

"It is for Ingrid," Felix answered. "It will be a birthday gift for her."

"For Daisy?" Byleth asked as she petted the side of the Pegasus' neck, and was absolutely loving how soft it was. "She's going to love it!"

"…Yeah…," Glenn mumbled.

"I really wish I could afford one."

"I bet if you ask King Lambert, he will get you one," Sylvain said and was nudging Dimitri with his elbow. "After all he will do anything to please his future daughter-in-law."

"Sylvain!" Dimitri yelled with his face bright red. He glanced at Byleth from the corner of his eyes and she wasn't reacting at all. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. But he did notice a small scowl on Glenn's face.

"Enough chatting. Try galloping around the area," Glenn said with a force smiled. "Just remember no flying."

"I don't even know how to make a Pegasus fly," Byleth said.

"Well, with your talent you probably could figure it out."

She smiled before lightly kicking the sides of the creature and she was pleased to discover that normal horse commands worked. The Pegasus strutted forward at a slow, even pace and she was okay with that. She didn't realize how comforting the slight rocking movements of riding could be. It reminded her of her father, and she gritted her teeth, she had missed him terribly; she didn't know if it was because she had been separated from him for so long or because of everything that happened. She was trying to put on a brave front for everyone, but she was scared and just wanted to be with her father.

Her gentle peace was destroyed when a knight stumbled out of the stables and fell right in front of the Pegasus, startling it. When the Pegasus reared back, she had nearly fell off but managed to hold on; in hindsight she wish she did fall off then. In a panic, the creature started to gallop at top speed away from everyone and she struggled to hold on and she wished she had waited for the saddle. As soon as the Pegasus had enough space to spread its wing, it took to the sky."

"Byleth! Shit!" She heard Glenn shout.

Holding clumps of the Pegasus' mane in a vice grip she buried her face into its neck. Waiting for everything to end, she shut her eyes. She did not know how much time had passed or how far they flew but slowly she pulled her face way to look around. The ride was much smoother now and so she hesitantly kicked the left side of the Pegasus and sure enough it slightly turned left; she had some control at least. She looked around and the sky was beautiful, and she thought she might enjoy being in the air, until she looked down; and nope being up so high was no good to her.

Struggling to maintain steady breaths, she desperately tried to remain calm. She had to get back to the Fraldarius' castle but she didn't know how too. Sure, she could possibly control the creature to fly in the right direction but what was the right direction? The only time she had traveled to the Fraldarius' castle was when she was unconscious so she couldn't rely on familiar terrain to guide her, not that she would be able to recognize anything with being so high up. She didn't even know how she was going to land.

Her next option could be Fhirdiad, she was sure someone would be able to help her down. She had yet to see a Pegasus rider there, but she did see a wyvern rider once so hopefully landing tricks were similar between the two creatures. But if she went to Fhirdiad she could possibly get Lord Rodrigue in trouble and she didn't want to do that. Frowning she decided that she would try to go back to castle Fraldarius, somehow. She was hoping that the Pegasus didn't fly that far from it.

Much to Byleth's relief, the Pegasus hadn't gotten too far, or at least she was hoping that the castle, she was over, was the right one. Now came her next problem, landing. Asking the Pegasus to fly down wasn't doing anything. She placed several light kicks on different places but none of them had the desired effect. In frustration she pulled the mane downwards, pointed to the ground, and absently kicked the back quarters of the creature and that produced the desired effects, sort of. The Pegasus dropped into a dive and she gripped its neck for dear life.

She squeezed her eyes shut when the ground was coming towards her way too fast for her liking. She heard her name shouted and she braced for an impact that never came. Slowly she opened one eye and then the other, she was safe, the Pegasus had made a safe landing. She released her death grip and slid (practically fell) off the creature and her legs felt like jelly. She would have fallen forward if Dimitri hadn't quickly rushed to her and she clung to him.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked as she held him tightly. Unable to find her voice she just nodded against his shoulder.

"Byleth, are you okay?" Lord Rodrigue asked in a panic as he ripped her away from Dimitri so he could look her over. Still not comfortable with speaking, she could only nod yes. "Thank the goddess."

Once satisfied with his little inspection, he released her and Dimitri went back to supporting her, though she didn't really need it anymore. The father quickly spun around to face his oldest son. "Glenn." The boy flinched at the harsh tone. "The goddess has blessed you with Byleth's safety. But still, what you did was beyond foolish?!" The son said nothing but gave a small nod. "What would you have done if she had gotten hurt? What if the Pegasus had landed in the middle of nowhere and she had no way of finding her way back here? What would you do if she was attacked out there? I assigned you as her knight to protect her, not to endanger her!"

Glenn said nothing but clenched his fists tightly. He nodded to his father when the rant was done and walked over to Byleth and bowed deeply to her. She wanted to speak out and stop him, but she knew such words would be pointless. "I beg you, for your forgiveness. I swear to you I will do better. I will protect you!" He said and slowly lifted his head. Their eyes locked and she felt like her breath was trapped in her throat and she was held captive by his gaze. She nodded but never broke eye contact.

* * *

Having enough excitement for the day, Byleth wanted to retire to her room until dinner was ready. Glenn was more than eager to escort her to her room. Dimitri wanted to tag along but she wouldn't let him as she was sure he would end his day early because of her. She was completely ignorant to the massive pout he wore for the rest of the day.

"I am really sorry for today," Glenn said, once they were completely alone.

"It wasn't your fault. How were you supposed to know such a thing would happen?" Byleth asked.

"Still, that was incredibly foolish of me. I knew that Pegasus needed more training." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "As far as trying to impress attempts go that must have been the worse in history."

"Impress?"

"Yeah, I was trying to impress you."

"Why?"

"Because…" A light shade of pink colored his cheeks and she found that she liked that look on him. "Well, because I am competing against a prince."

"Competing against a prince? For what?"

He looked at her for a bit. His cheeks took on a darker shade. "For your…affection." She tilted her head at him as she believed that was a silly thing to complete for.

He stopped dead in his track, and she stopped a few steps later and turned to face him. "Byleth, I…," he started but quickly stopped. He was fixated on the Pegasus' feather she had been twirling in her hand during their entire walk. He pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head. "Forget it."

He tried to walk past her, but she stopped him by asking, "Forget what?"

Sighing he took a deep breath and looked straight again. "Forget I said anything."

She frowned. "Why?"

Another sigh escaped him, and he lowered his head. "Please." At his plea, she was silent.

**Twenty-Seventh of the Horsebow Moon:**

Byleth never asked Glenn what he wanted to say that night. They had barely spoken since that night. She was going to answer his request and forget but her curiosity made it hard; lucky for her Dimitri was helping to keep her distracted as he had been trying to consume all of her attention. She found it a bit annoying with how much he was trying but she did nothing to stop it as she realized that she hadn't been paying as much attention to him as she normally did.

After training for the day, she found Dimitri once again challenging her to a duel. He had been doing that after every training session, he had been more eager than ever to defeat her. Their sparring sessions usually involved both of them using lances but lately he had been making her use a training sword, claiming that he would beat her when she was at her best. She didn't know why he had insisted that when he had yet to defeat her when she used a lance.

Proudly the prince stood before her in the training ground. She had to fight back a sigh; his stance was full of the same holes from the day before. He may be making similar mistakes, but she would admit that he had been making fast progress in a lot of areas as of late. She could see him becoming a difficult opponent for her in a few years.

As always, he was quick to race forward, despite her constantly telling him to be more patient. Sighing, she watched as he prepared the same opening move as he often done, a high leap into the air followed by a downward swing of his lance. It wasn't proper lance form and she had repeated that to him several times and yet he always tried to imitate her downward swing of her sword when she needed more power.

She raised her sword to block the strike the same way she always did but that time it was different, oh so very different. It started with a glow on his left bicep; she heard the horror stories of how deadly the Blaiddyd crest was, but it was too late for her to dodge. Her training sword snapped like it was a twig and she was left helpless to stop the devastating blow. The lance snapped against her head and she fell backwards, hearing her name being shouted was the last thing she registered before everything went dark.

"Your crest is terrifying. I do not want to train against you anymore," she vaguely heard someone say as she slowly came too. She blinked a few times, waiting for her vision to settle. Her head throbbed so she didn't even bother with trying to sit up.

"And By, took the full blunt of it. What if she never wakes up?" she heard a different voice ask.

"Do not say that!" a third voice yelled out in desperation and she groaned at the loud volume, but it was the final piece to the easy puzzle as she now knew who each voice belonged too.

Still refusing to try and get up, she simply raised an arm to grab everyone's attention. "I'm awake," she weakly mumbled. Instantly her three friends were at her side shouting her name, which caused her to groan again. Dimitri gripped her raised hand too tightly as he said his apology.

She smiled at him and noticed that he looked like he was on the verge of tears. With a bit of force, she managed to pull her hand free and patted his head. "Congratulations, you finally beat me."

He frowned. "That was not me that was my crest."

"Your crest is still apart of you, so you won." From the corner of her eyes she could see Sylvain frowning at her words, but he kept quiet. She poked at Dimitri's arm, where his crest was visible. "The Blaidid crest is scary."

"Blaiddyd." She was amused watching as he struggled to keep the smile off of his face.

Suddenly the door, to the room, was slammed open and everyone, inside, jumped. Glenn was the first to enter and rushed to her side, shoving Sylvain and Dimitri aside so that he could look her over. He gently placed a hand on her head, when she assured him, she was fine. Lord Rodrigue was the next to stumble in and took a moment to catch his breath.

"What happened here?" the lord asked and was trying to portray an air of calm, but his heaving breathing betrayed him.

"Dimitri hit By," Sylvain said.

"I did not! I mean I did but it was not on purpose!" Dimitri stammered. "My crest did it!"

"Seriously, one of the few times I am not by your side and you go and get beat up by Prince Dimitri?" Glenn laughed and Dimitri turned red. He pushed back some of her hair and discovered a small scar on her head. "Oh, it looks like the prince left you a scar. That is not very nice of him."

"What?!" Dimitri shoved Glenn aside so that he could see it. It was a tiny little thing that was easily lost in her hair. "By, I am so sorry." She merely shook her head at him and patted his head.

"It's fine."

Lord Rodrigue sighed as he leaned against the wall. Soon a groan escaped him as he rubbed the sides of his temples. "Prince Dimitri, did you really need to activate your crest here?"

"I am sorry!" Dimitri squeaked out.

"Your father is never going to stop complaining about this."

**Wyvern Moon 1174: (Warning there is some strong child abuse in this month)**

The last month passed relatively peacefully. Sylvain had to return home after swearing to never tell anyone about Dimitri and Byleth staying at the Fraldarius' castle. The magic barrier around the castle in Fhirdiad was progressing smoothly and it was expected to be completed by the end of the month so plans for Dimitri's and Byleth's return were being made.

With no signs of any kidnappers seen in weeks Lord Rodrigue decided that it would be a nice change of pace to take the children and a few elite knights out and go hunting. Byleth had been delighted as she no longer felt trapped. She knew everything was the way it was in order to protect her, but she couldn't help but feel like a caged animal.

Just to be on the safe side they did not travel far from the castle. The hunt had been successful but Byleth knew she had underperformed without being able to kill a single animal. Usually she was a really good hunter, she was the best in her father's mercenary company, in fact, but ever since her chest started to grow it became a major hindrance. Frowning she just stared at the fire, in front of her, it had been decided that they would camp for the night despite being so close to the castle. She liked it as she had missed spending nights out.

"What is wrong?" Dimitri asked from beside her. He was sitting as close to her as he was comfortable with.

"I'm usually a better hunter," she mumbled, eyes still glued to the flame before her.

"Everyone has an off day," Felix commented but her frown remained.

"I only did so poorly because of these." She held up her breast and glared down at them.

"Byleth, it is improper for a lady to hold her chest," Lord Rodrigue had commented from the other side of the fire and she put her chest down.

"I should cut one off."

"No!" Dimitri shouted and got closer. His face turned red when he realized how close he had gotten. "Ilikeyourbodyanddon'twantanythingbadtohappentoit." He said it so quickly that she didn't understand him. He sat back and took a deep breath. "I do not want you to hurt yourself."

"I also object to your crazy idea," Glenn said as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him as he sat down next to her. Lord Rodrigue loudly cleared his throat and Glenn released her and looked away, frowning. "You just need time to adjust to your changes and you will become an excellent fighter in no time."

Her attention shifted back to Dimitri and Felix when Glenn left. Ever since their conversation after the Pegasus situation, he had become distant and it hurt her. Disappointment had settled in her, but she didn't really feel like she could discuss such a thing with anyone. She had assumed what he had asked her to forget was that conversation but now she feared it was a few more things, things she wasn't sure if she wanted to forget.

If Glenn wanted her to forget than she would try, despite what she felt. She quietly listened to Dimitri as he described how he caught his rabbit and Felix would chime in about how he got his. She did well at masking her annoyance at not being able to hunt the easiest of prey. Both boys offered to share their catch with her, and she smiled at them.

A hushed but strong order from Lord Rodrigue had silenced everyone. He, along with the other magically inclined knights, stood at the ready, eyes scanning the area. Soon she was able to feel what they had been feeling, the strong but dark pulsating magic; it was the same feeling that overwhelmed her during her first abduction attempt. Quickly she drew her blade and stood defensively behind Dimitri and Felix.

A strong roar reverberated in the forest and a chill rand down her spine. All eyes flew to the direction the roar came from; all weapons were quickly drawn. In a moment of her distractions strong arms grabbed her, one went to silence her while the other grabbed her dominant arm. She was yanked backwards, and she was completely unable to do a thing against the attacker's strength but fortunately for her she wasn't pulled to much backward as Dimitri had grabbed her and Felix grabbed the prince.

"Release By!" ordered Dimitri as he and Felix pulled her back, enough to free her mouth and as well from her own terror. She shifted her sword into her free hand and stabbed it into her attacker's chest, killing him quickly.

Her name was shouted by Glenn as he rushed towards her, but suddenly a massive beast stormed into their camp. It was nothing like any creature she had ever seen before. It had deep, crimson scales that covered most of its body and a long neck that seemed much too large for the creature. Parts of its body look like it was melting/falling apart, almost like it someone released it before it could be finished. A top of its head was a gigantic, glowing red gem, and it felt like her heart was reacting to it as she felt a weird pulse coming from her chest. It let out a roar that shook everyone to their core.

She was about to grab both Dimitri and Felix to shove them behind her, but she was instead the one grabbed and was tossed back into the woods and into the arms of another man. It was awkward but she managed to jam her sword down into her captive's leg, freeing herself. She only managed to brace herself before her other attacker tackled her into a tree and she dropped her sword in the process.

No time was given for to her to react as she was knocked to the ground with a solid punch and then she was roughly kicked in the stomach, knocking her further away from everyone. She coughed up bile and spit as she tried to get up, but a large hand grabbed a fist full of her hair and dragged her further away.

"What are you doing? We got the girl we should leave before one of those knights intervene," said the attacker that she managed to stab in the leg earlier.

"They want us to keep the Fell Star alive? Utterly ridiculous!" spat the other man. He pulled her up by her hair, until she was eye level with him. "We should kill her! She deserves that and so much more!" He threw her to the ground. "Maybe we could use her bones and make ourselves a new weapon? We will probably get better use out of her that way."

"Unfortunately, her body right now is that of a pathetic, little girl."

"Death it is then."

The larger man slammed her against the ground by her throat and crawled over her, pinning her there. With wide eyes she stared up at him and he smirked down at her from behind the mask that covered his eyes. With one hand he gripped her neck, strongly, and her small hands clawed at it, in desperation. He pulled out a strange dagger, the likes of which she had never seen before. With a sick satisfaction he showed it off to her before plunging it into her abdomen. The cry she released was cut short when he squeezed her neck harder.

"Before I kill you, we do need your blood." He said with delight. "I guess I could take your blood after I kill you but where would the fun be in that?"

Byleth frantically clawed at that man's hand but it was having no affect. Her world was slowly growing dark as her lungs burned with the desperate need for air. Slowly she closed her eyes accepting her fate, when she felt a comforting warmth of Faith magic channel through her, calming her. Grabbing his arm that gripped her neck, she focused on channeling her energy into it and soon he cried out and released her; burn marks in the shape of her hands decorated his arm. Now with a bit more freedom, she was able to grab her dagger and plunge it into his chest, forcing him up a bit, enough for her to crawl out. With her legs now freed she quickly got up and ran back to the camp, barely avoiding the other man that struggled to give chase with his injured leg.

Her lungs burned, blood gushed through her fingers almost like the pressure she had placed on her wound wasn't even there, but she did not stop and pushed forward. The forest was not her ally that night as it had attempted to trip her at every opportunity it got but it failed to truly stop her every time. She did not look back once and just focused on going forward.

"Byleth!" Glenn shouted as he came into view and rushed forward. At the sight of him, she finally gave in and collapsed, a few seconds later her was cradling her. "Thank the goddess, you are alive," he whispered into her hair. Relief flooded through her as she clung to him with everything she had. Gently, he picked her up and rushed back to the camp.

The camp had been utterly destroyed and the beast was not where to be seen. The land was scorched, trees uprooted or snapped in half, bodies of similar masked assailant littered the area, but it seemed fate was on their side as she didn't spy any dead knight bodies among the chaos. She also didn't see Dimitri or Felix anywhere and a panic ripped through her as she fought to be free of Glenn's grip, but he held on to her.

"Calm down!" he ordered but she didn't listen. "They are safe!" She froze, which allowed him to point at a knight, who stepped to the side, to reveal Lord Rodrigue checking on the kids. She went limp in his arms.

When Lord Rodrigue spotted her, he screamed out her name and rushed to her with the kids following. "Thank the goddess!" he breathed quietly, "I feared that we had lost you." With her panic gone she was able to properly look at everyone and she noticed several wounds on Lord Rodrigue, and cuts now decorated both Dimitri and Felix. She knew Glenn was injured by the way he was clearly favoring one side and his haggard breathing.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out and startled everyone. "Because of me everyone was…" She started to sob making it harder to speak. And despite the overwhelming pain and emotions she was feeling no tears fell.

"It is not your fault," Glenn said but that did not stop her from saying her apologies over and over again. Dimitri and Felix tried to comfort her but their words fell on deaf ears.

Lord Rodrigue placed a gentle had over her eyes and slowly ran it through her hair as he whispered soft words to her, eventually she was able to settle down enough to stop. "Now Byleth, you did nothing wrong. The fault lies with me for making a poor judgement," Lord Rodrigue said softly to her. "I am the one responsible for taking the enemy lightly. But what is done is done. You should not dwell on what happened here." She wanted to speak up to say that she was still a liability and threat to everyone. She wanted to point out that the force that attacked them was much too great to be something done so quickly but her voice was nowhere to be found and so she found herself giving into his gentle touch and believing his words that the worst was over.

"She is injured," Glenn said after she had calmed down some more.

With her permission Lord Rodrigue pulled up her tunic to reveal her wound. Frowning he gently touched the area around it and apologized when she finally voiced her pain. "This is an unusual wound," he started muttering to himself. "It looks like it was done to cause as much bleeding as possible."

"They wanted my blood," she finally spoke, and she watched as he pressed his lips together. "They said it would be better to kill me as all they really needed was my blood." She felt Glenn's grip on her tighten and a low growl escaped him. "They called me 'Fell Star'." She was looking at the lord for answers, but he shook his head.

"Forgive me but I have never heard of such a term before." He placed his hand over her wound and she winced but soon she felt a familiar magic flow through her; it was his magic that she had felt earlier. With her adrenaline gone and the side effects of the Faith magic, she quickly drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Byleth didn't know how long she had been out, but she knew it was at least nighttime when she awoke. Panic had briefly overwhelmed her until she looked down at the weight on her hand and noticed another had been intertwined in hers. She traced the arm that the hand belonged to and discovered that it was Felix's and curled up next to her on her other side was Dimitri; it was then that she was finally able to recognize her room at the Fraldarius' castle. As quietly as possible she pulled her hand free and crawled out of the bed without disturbing anyone.

The harsh cold of the fall night chilled her, but she ignored it as she wasn't sure where her coat was at the moment. She opened the door to her room and discovered two large knights staring down at her. Frozen, she stared up at them, unsure of what to do. Eventually, one of the knights bent down to speak to her quietly.

"Do you need something?" asked the knight and she wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't really thought about her actions until then, which she realized she should have doing since the beginning.

"Is Lord Rodrigue still awake?" she asked quietly. The knights shared a quick look with each other.

"Yes. Do you need him for something?" She nodded as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Can it wait until the morning?" She shook her head. She still didn't know where she was going with that or why she asked to see him, but she decided it was important, whatever it was. There was a silent exchange between the knights, until the one that had been speaking to her, agreed to take her to see the lord.

The knight silently escorted her to Lord Rodrigue's office. He looked down at her before knocking on the door. "I thought I made it clear that I was not to be disturbed," said the clearly annoyed lord from the other side.

"Forgive me Milord, but Byleth wishes to speak to you," said the knight. There was a pause before she was agreed to be let in. She stood in the middle of the room, the knight stood at the door, and the lord at his large desk with several papers and candles spread upon it. She kept staring at the knight.

"Byleth, you should be resting," Lord Rodrigue said tiredly.

Briefly she stopped staring at the knight to bow and apologize. Her attention went back to the knight and after a minute the knight was ordered to stand outside. She was finally alone with him and yet she still didn't really know what she wanted. Her abdomen throbbed and she sighed. She decided she would finally voice her suspicions when she remembered seeing all the injuries from earlier.

"I…," she fiddled with the hem of her nightgown. "I think I know, who sent those people after me." Her voice had been quiet, but it still was heard loud and clear in that deathly silent room.

Leaning forward, he rested his head on his folded hands but said nothing. She knew that his silence was a sign for her to continue but her voice was hard to find. Taking a deep breath, she found her resolve to continue and meet his stare with her own.

"Lord Arundel. He sent them, I'm sure of it."

He leaned back into his chair and sighed. He stared up at his roof in complete silence. A sigh escaped her, and she soon found her resolve crumbling and wished she never spoke. After a few seconds of the suffocating silence his eyes fell back onto her.

"That…" he started but quickly stopped to take a deep breath. "That is a grave accusation you are making. What proof do you have?"

She gritted her teeth and her gaze fell to the floor before her. "Nothing but superficial stuff at best…" Another sigh from him. She returned her gaze back to him to explain her reasoning. "When the assassin attacked the castle during the Verdant Rain Moon, he had attacked at the time Lord Arundel would always visit…" Shaking of his head caused her to lose confidence until she just stopped speaking all together.

"I am sorry Byleth but there is little I can do." She balled her fists so tightly together that her knuckles were white and proceeded to look back at the ground. "Lord Arundel will soon be the king's brother-in-law." Her eyes burned with her tears of frustration that would never fall. "You understand, yes?" She said nothing and was just eager to get everything over with.

"Byleth, I am sor-"

"Forgive me for disturbing you." She knew she shouldn't interrupt a noble, especially a powerful one like him but she didn't care. She just wanted to leave, not just that room but the castle, and Kingdom as well. She wanted to be with her father, the one person she knew would be on her side and would listen to her. Bowing deeply, she excused herself from the room before anything else could be said. She did not wait for the knight before she walked back to her room.

Once inside her room she slid down the door and took many deep, sharp breaths. She hated just how powerless she was. She couldn't defend herself on the battlefield or in a court of nobles. Her nails dug into her palms as she buried her face into her knees.

"By?" She flinched at the sound of Dimitri's voice, but she didn't look up. "Are you alright?" she buried her face deeper. "Does your stomach hurt?" When he placed a hand on her shoulder did, she finally look up at him.

Though it was dark, and she could barely see, she could still make out the concern in his eyes. Gritting her teeth, she went back to burying her face. Their friendship shouldn't exist. Dimitri was a prince and would one day be a king and she was a nobody, a powerless nobody. She took a sharp breath but her pent up frustration remained.

She flinched when she felt arms wrapped around her in an awkward hug thanks to her position. "It is alright By. I am here!" She inhaled sharply through her nose. "I will protect you; I promise!' Finally, she gave in and broke down her little knee barrier to wrap her arms around him before burying her face into his shoulder. Even if their friendship shouldn't exist. Even if she was powerless. And even if it was to one day come to end. It was something she greatly treasured, and she would hold onto it with her entire being.

* * *

Morning came and with it so did King Lambert and a squadron of knights. The king even brought Areadbhar with him. Byleth stared at the powerful lance, it felt almost alive to her with the strong energy it pulsated. She had seen the lance several times before as Dimitri had shown it to her, but it felt different in the hands of someone that could wield it.

The king walked over to her and his fingers brushed the collar of her jacket. "By, please show me your neck," he asked, and she flinched. Hesitantly she unbuttoned the first few buttons of her jacket and exposed the nasty handprint bruise that now adored her neck. Scowling he got down on his knees and pulled her into a hug with one arm.

"I am so sorry." She said nothing and just stared at the knights before her. The back of her throat burned with the resentment that still lingered. He pulled away from the hug and looked her in the eye. "I am sorry that there is little I can do." She pressed her lips together but said nothing. He mirrored her actions but added a small nod before rising to his feet.

"I did hear from your father. He should be arriving in Fhirdiad by tonight if he is not already there by now." She smiled at that.

Jeralt had refused to leave his daughter's side and even planned to leave to the Kingdom with her but despite her sharing similar feelings she had convinced him to stay. He was assigned to be the prince's guard for the remainder of their stay. There had been no other incidents after that one night; people had chalked it up to the magic barrier and the terrifying guard that prevented such attacks but Byleth felt differently. She was sure that they were just satisfied for now and that they would be back for her soon; it left her on a constant edge.

* * *

A/N: I wonder if this chapter had been too violent. Maybe I should considered change the rating to M? What do you readers think? I also want everyone's opinion on how I wrote the Horsebow Moon. Did it you all like it? Because I might write future chapters with a similar format like that as well as maybe write some of my smaller ideas into my story like that, that don't really have a spot to be added in the way I have been normally writing.

I really do want your guys opinion on these things as it will help me better improve the story so please share!

Next chapter will be full of fluff to make up for all the cruelty I've been doing to Byleth lately.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So, when I decided to break up this year into two chapters, I was sure the first chapter was going to be relatively short. Nope! It's the longest chapter yet! I didn't even realize I knew this many words (okay sure a lot of them are repeating but still!).

In regard to my question last chapter about the rating. Many of you have stated that my rating was still a Teen so I'm going to keep it that way. But for the few of you that did express your concerns I will put up warnings. I will probably put those warning next to the month that the warning will pretrain to (Example: Wyvern Moon 1174 Warning for Violence or such). That being said, my rating may always change in the future.

And my final author note for the beginning part is that I have a female cat in heat and haven't been able to get any decent sleep for the last 6 days, so I apologize in advance if there are a lot more than usual spelling or grammar errors.

Ages:

Byleth: 15

Dimitri: 11

Felix: 11

Sylvain: 14

Ingrid: 11

Glenn: 17

* * *

**Garland Moon 1175:**

**Sixteenth of the Garland Moon:**

Sylvain had just turned fourteen and a lavish party was thrown in his honor without his desire. He would have much preferred a simple party with his friends, but he rarely got what he wanted from his family besides material stuff. His fourteenth birthday had been especially extravagant because Sylvain had finally activated his crest and was forced to show it off to all to solidify him as the heir and to promote that he was a desirable marriage candidate to all the single women.

That day couldn't have ended soon enough for him. He got to at least spend the next day with his friends. Felix and Ingrid would be staying for the rest of the month while Dimitri would have to leave by the end of the week. Their stay wasn't for as long as he would have liked but it was nice for the time being at least.

They had sat around a table in Sylvain's room, playing cards as night had settled in. Dimitri was clearly distracted and had been fidgeting for the past two days. Sylvain was just waiting for the prince to say or do whatever had been bothering him. Felix and Ingrid were both too absorbed into the game as each was determined to be the winner. Sylvain was more interested in waiting for Dimitri to explode than to be bothered to play the game.

"Ha! I win!" Ingrid shouted as she slapped down her hand on the large pile of cards before Felix could. Felix grumbled and tossed his remaining cards into the air. It was only then that both Sylvain and Dimitri realized that they had zoned out for the better part of the game.

Ingrid pushed the pile of cards towards Felix with a mocking grin. The blue haired boy looked away, refusing to acknowledge them in the slightest. "Admit it! Admit that I won!" He folded his arms across his chest and looked to the side. She poked him in the chest. "Admit it!" He exhaled loudly through his nose. "Such a stubborn boy, nothing like Sir Glenn."

"If we had been sword fighting then there is no way, I would have lost!" he proclaimed loudly. He got onto his feet and pointed at her. "I challenge you!"

"No," Sylvain nonchalantly said as he cleaned up the cards and Felix huffed loudly. "I told you I just want to relax."

"I am not challenging you!"

"I know but if my father sees it then he will make me join, so no." With a humph Felix dropped back onto the floor, pouting.

"Prince Dimitri, you have been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?" Ingrid finally asked since neither of the other two boys were willing too.

"I, uh…um…," Dimitri struggled to find the words he wanted to say, and his cheeks warmed as a result. "Would you all be willing to help me with something?" Everyone agreed quickly, which brought a smile to his face.

"I…uh…," he stumbled again, and his face was getting warmer by the second. He took a deep breath and looked at everyone before continuing. "I…I plan to confess to By on my birthday."

Both Ingrid and Sylvain shouted their surprise, while Felix was puzzled. "Confess what?" the youngest boy asked.

"His love!" Ingrid squealed, practically into Felix's face. She then pulled away to imagine the moment. "And you will do it on your birthday? Oh, it is going to be so romantic!"

"Are you sure about this?" Sylvain asked, ignoring Ingrid as she described the scene she was imagining.

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked as he desperately tried to ignore Ingrid as well, less his face melt off from the embarrassment.

"Well…How do I put this nicely?" Sylvain mumbled. "Are you really sure you are in love? I mean, you are only eleven."

Dimitri placed a hand over his heart and smiled fondly. "She is all I ever think about anymore. I wonder if she is okay. If she ate yet and if so, did she like it? I wonder if she misses me, even a fraction of how much I miss her." He looked up and locked eyes with Sylvain. "There is always a strong warmth in my chest whenever I think about her. If this is not love, then I do not know what is."

"I think his love is more genuine than yours," Ingrid said and glared at the older boy, who threw his hands up in surrender.

"But By likes Gl-" Felix started to say before both Dimitri and Sylvain were quick to cover his mouth.

"Glendal!" Sylvain shouted a made-up name when Ingrid looked at them funny.

"Glendal is a knight in service to the Fraldarius' family," Dimitri was quick to add. "And I do not care. I still plan to confess and maybe that will help her notice me more."

Felix smacked both their hands away and gave them weak glares. "So, you think By will come back then?" Felix asked and all eyes flew to him. "Last year was terrible for her. And after everything she went through…" He didn't finish his thought with how heavy the mood had gotten.

"I…I believe she will come," Dimitri spoke after a few moments. "I have no proof, but I believe she will. By, will not let those events hold her back."

"So, what do you want us to do?" Sylvain asked to help lighten the mood. "Need some tips on wooing a girl? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, you do!" Dimitri frowned and Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"I want to tell her on my birthday, so I will have to convince my father to allow her to attend, but after I do that, I will need help getting By read for the ball. That is where I will need your help." He paused to turn to Ingrid. "I will need your help getting By a dress." She frowned and he offered her a sympathetic smile. "I Know you do not care for such things, but you have more experience with those sorts of things than By." There was a collective agreement in the group before the prince turned to his two male friends. "I will need your help teaching By to dance." Felix groaned. "I fear if only I teach her, she might become suspicious." Both boys nodded and Dimitri expressed his heartfelt thanks.

"I just realized this means, I will not be able to flirt with By anymore," Sylvain pouted before Ingrid smacked him across the head.

"You should not have been flirting with her in the first place!"

**Seventeenth of the Garland Moon:**

The Jeralt mercenaries had settled in a small town on the border of the Alliance and Empire. They had been hired to exterminate some bandits but founding their hideout had been difficult, causing them to stay a lot longer than what Jeralt would have liked. It was a small, peaceful town, the kind Byleth liked, but because of its proximity to the Empire, she was having a hard time enjoying her stay. She didn't know where Lord Arundel's land was in the Empire, so all of the Empire bothered her so.

She had not been attacked since that night during the Wyvern Moon the year prior, but it did leave her on a constant edge even with her father nearby. Falling asleep proved to be quite a challenge for her and even when she did finally manage to sleep it was never for long as she would always jolt awake soon after from a noise or something. Her fingers were constantly brushing over her dagger, making sure it was there as well as to be ready to strike whenever needed.

The bags under her eyes were becoming impossible to ignore. Jeralt was beside himself as he didn't know what more he could do for his daughter, besides beheading that Arundel bastard. He wanted to spend his entire time with her, but he couldn't. He refused to bring her on missions, despite her pleas that pierced his heart. Both her safety and innocence, he wanted to protect but after everything she went through, he feared she had little innocence left.

Until the bandits' lair would be uncovered, Jeralt was always at his daughter's side and they walked through the town, savoring the good day. The markets were full of people and were booming with life. He had feared that large amounts of people might bother Byleth but she had found comfort in the crowds so he would seek them out for her. Her reasoning for liking them didn't sit well with him though, "more eyes, meant more protection" was what she often told him. He was pleased to discover that despite everything she was still trusting but now maybe that trust was a problem.

Byleth drifted over to a leather shop. Her eyes glistened over the products, while he stood a bit back, watching. "Kid, we have plenty of leather," he said after a minute.

"Yeah, but it's old and cheap quality," She said as she inspected some high-quality leather.

"It's good enough for repairs. What do you need such high quality for?"

"Aster's gift." He pressed his lips together. He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her away.

"After everything, you still want to go back?"

"I…" Memories of that night flooded her mind and she began to tremble. He squeezed her shoulder and the memories stopped. "Isn't the pay really good? It wouldn't be fair to the others if you don't accept the contract."

"I don't care about that. They others will understand."

She pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "I…I want to see Aster." And if she got to see her other friends too that would be great but after her exchange with Lord Rodrigue she was left with mixed feelings about him and she was afraid that those feelings would affect her relationship with Glenn and Felix. But despite everything Dimitri was a comfort she was desperately seeking. Or maybe that was what she was hoping because there was an emptiness she felt, and it was painful. She never shared that information with her father, she didn't want him to worry any more than he already was, nor did she want him to feel like a failure for being unable to help her.

He looked at her and she tried to maintain eye contact with him but eventually she gave in and looked away. Sighing deeply, he squeezed her shoulder. "I would prefer to never go back. I don't feel like you're safe there."

"Am I really safe with our current situation as well?" He flinched and she wished she could take back her words. She threw her arms around him and gave him a small squeeze. "I love you! I don't hate this life. I know you have done everything you could to keep me safe."

He said nothing as he smothered her in his own hug.

**Twentieth of the Garland Moon:**

The bandits' hideout still had yet to be discovered and Jeralt was starting to get antsy. He didn't want to stay in one place for so long; it was far too risky for his liking but there was little he could do. He couldn't just abandon the village and the pay was great, which they were in desperate need for at the moment. He was at the mercy of fate and prayed that no one would attack his daughter in the meantime.

Night had fallen on another uneventful day and his entire company of mercenaries were sitting around the fire. Byleth had finished her dinner and was cleaning up the dishes as he took a swig his ale. She showed no signs of their long stay being a bothered and he wondered if maybe he was worrying to much or if maybe his daughter was just stronger than he was giving her credit for.

"Father," she called as she walked over to him, drying her hands on her tunic in the process. "I want to learn Faith magic." He shook his head as he finished off his ale.

"We have been over this Kid," he sighed, "only the church offers free studies with no enrollment requirements. And I'm not letting you go to one."

"But it can be very cost efficient if I learn it! We won't have to spend so much money on bandages and concoctions!"

"I said no!"

She stomped her foot. "But dad!" Her eyes widened at the slip of her tongue.

"Dad?" Her cheeks turned red and she looked away.

"Aster calls his father 'dad' so I've been wanting to call you that for some time…I just didn't know if you would like it or not…"

"No, I love it!" He squeezed her in a big hug. "Always call me dad!" He rubbed his face against hers, and she groaned with weak protest. He shouted at everyone telling them what she called him, and her face turned slightly redder, when everyone cheered or laugh.

He laughed when she broke away from him pouting. She sat down next to him and he happily pulled her closer. The prince maybe looking at a daughter in a way he did not like but he could not deny that the boy was a positive influence; and even though he was still incredibly hesitant about returning to the Kingdom, he decided that it might be for the best for his daughter.

"So, can I learn Faith magic?" she asked again, and he sighed.

"No."

"But!"

"It's too dangerous." She stomped her foot and puffed out her cheeks. He loved how expressive she was becoming. She still couldn't emote as well as most people but now people wouldn't be able to call her lifeless, at least.

"You are just being ridiculous!"

"I'm being ridiculous? You're being ridiculous! We covered why you are not allowed to go to the church."

With a loud, over the top groan, Byleth stomped away. Sharing his own groan, Jeralt rubbed his face. He truly loved how expressive she had become but he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the easier days sometimes. He never took into account how difficult it would be to raise a teenage daughter.

"Why you deny our little princess something she want?" asked a gruff voice and another groan escaped the father. The voice belonged to a tall, dark man with jet black hair and a large, scruffy beard. He was a jolly man that both Jeralt and Byleth liked a lot, but that man was quite stubborn as well. Many of the men in the company had taken a liking to Byleth but that man had taken the greatest liking to her and even treated her like his own daughter.

"Muharib," the father groaned out the man's name.

"Our princess is good girl. How could you say no to her?"

"Did she tell you that she wants to go to church?"

Muharib turned to Byleth that had been standing behind him and folded his arms across his chest. He looked down at her and she tried to shrink into herself. Saying nothing, he shook his head at her, and she frowned in return.

She stomped her foot. "I just want to help!" she shouted. "You won't let me fight so at least let me heal!"

The two men looked at each other. Muharib arched an eyebrow at Jeralt, who sighed. The dark-skinned man stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder and now both of them were staring at the father.

"It's too dangerous…" Jeralt said weakly. Both Byleth and Muharib folded their arms across their chests. Shaking his head, Jeralt refused again.

"Please…," her tone had softened greatly. He looked up and saw that she was on the verge of tears that would never fall. Seeing her like that was a stab to his heart but he remained steadfast. "If I learn magic, I can better protect myself from those people." He pressed his lip tightly together. "I…I don't want to live in fear…" That was the final straw, he rushed to his daughter and held her in a tight embrace.

**Twenty-first of the Garland Moon:**

Reluctantly, so very reluctantly, Jeralt had agreed to let Byleth learn magic at the churches in the towns that they visited. There were some strict rules, she was never allowed to tell any church officials, her real name, age, or who her father was. She was also not allowed to stay in a church for more than two hours. All of the rules were agreeable to her.

The father daughter pair, along with Muharib, stood just down the street from the local church. Even though it had been agreed upon Jeralt was still incredibly hesitant to let her go, somewhere where he couldn't follow. Because of the possibility that he could be recognized he never allowed himself to be even on the same street of a church, but he wanted to at least see to it that she got inside safely. Muharib had volunteered to take Byleth to the church but because of his background, he would only stay outside the church.

"Okay Kid, have you thought up a new name?" Jeralt asked.

She nodded. "Byleth Blaiddyd." He squeezed her shoulders.

"Over my dead body will you be using that name! I'll be damned if I let the king have his way!" She titled her head and he sighed.

"Princess point of new name is to not have attention on you," Muharib spoke up and she nodded with new understanding.

"Byleth Fraldarius," Byleth said confidently. Jeralt sighed and Muharib laughed.

"Name still too famous."

"Allaena," she mumbled under her breath.

"Now princess, what we say about using my words?"

"But I like the way they sound."

Smiling Muharib patted her head. "You words make me happy but my words be bad. So, no say, okay?" Pouting, she nodded.

"Kid, you need to think up a new name that isn't using one of your friends' last name. I don't think you realize how important they are in the Kingdom," Jeralt said.

After promising that she would come up with a new name, Jeralt begrudgingly left to join the search for the bandits. Muharib than took over on explaining on what she was to do once inside the church. She was to leave immediately if she felt uncomfortable with anything and if she were unable to leave, she was to scream, and he would rush in.

Byleth made it through her first two hours of teaching with no problems. Though, she did find the preaching boring. Jeralt was forced to relent to her continuing her lessons but the rules still stayed.

**Wyvern Moon 1175:**

Nervousness and excitement made for a terrible combination and Dimitri had more energy than he knew what to do with nor could he put it to practical use. He was unable to sit still for his etiquette class and so the teacher ended it early, to his delight. During his lance practice, he ended up breaking three different lances including an iron lance and it was decided that training would end early before he broke all the supplies. He had been contented to just sit around in his room and wait for Byleth but all his energy wouldn't allow it; so he spent the remainder of the day running around the castle.

It was during his third run of the castle that he had learned of her arrival. Without a care he raced through the castle, heading for the entrance. Rounding a corner to quickly, he nearly ran into Jeralt. The older man stared down at the prince and Dimitri was frozen, struggling to maintain eye contact. The mercenary's eyes narrowed, and Dimitri flinched.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Sir Jeralt Sir!" Dimitri squeaked. He had waited for Jeralt to correct him on calling him just simply "Jeralt" like he did with everyone else but that never happened. Dimitri was struggling to maintain a picture of calm under the intense gaze. He now understood why his father was so afraid of upsetting that man. "Is By here, sir?" The father said nothing, and the prince started to squirm.

"Aye," Jeralt said after what felt like an eternity to the poor boy. "She headed over to her room." Dimitri bowed and said his thanks. When he was just passed the man, Jeralt spoke again but did not look at the prince, halting him. "Prince, I want to make something perfectly clear." Dimitri audibly gulped. "I did not want to return." Guilt and hurt washed over the boy. "Byleth asked to come back. She wanted to see you." Jeralt finally turned to face the prince. "You better take care of my daughter; do you hear me?"

Dimitri vigorously nodded his head to which the older man narrowed his eyes. "Yes sir!" The prince squeaked and his voice cracked. "I swear I will protect By! I will not let anything happen to her; I swear it!" His determination shown through his eyes and the older man snorted through his nose and left.

With Jeralt gone, Dimitri was able to breathe easy. Wasting no more time he rushed towards Byleth's room. His heart was beating wildly, and a massive smile was etched onto his face. She had wanted to see him! She had missed him! Thoughts like those made him light on his feet and he nearly forgot himself as he slammed the door, to her room open, breaking the hinges.

Jumping slightly, Byleth slowly turned to face him. The warmth that was supposed to flood him turned to dread when he saw her left arm in a sling and a bandage wrapped around her head. In mere seconds he was at her side, hovering over her.

"By, what happened?!" He asked with his panic clear in his voice.

She smiled at him and normally he would love to see it but at that moment he hated it. "Hello Aster," she simply greeted.

"By!"

She poked his forehead. "So impatient. First off, I am okay." He frowned but said nothing. "Second, we were attacked by a pack of Giant Wolves. I guess they had a grudge against my father's company or something."

"Let us get you to Cornelia. She can heal you." He took her free and guided her out of the room.

"There's no need to trouble her over these little wounds."

"Nonsense!" He squeezed her hand and locked eyes with her. "I do not want you to see you hurt."

She smiled at him and gave her consent with a little nod, so he led her to Cornelia's office. On the way over he worked up the courage to interlace their fingers together. He glanced at her from over his shoulder to gauge her reaction to which she smiled when she noticed his glance. His face was warm, and his smile was large as he slowed their pace a little so that he could continue to hold her hand for a little while longer.

Faster than he would have liked, which he felt guilty for feeling that way, they had arrived at Cornelia's office. She had been sitting at her desk, looking over some papers. When she spotted them, she greeted them, and her gaze lingered on Byleth for a long while. Before Dimitri could ask his request, he felt Byelth tightly grip his hand and when he looked back at her, he noticed that her eyes were wide, and she was staring at Cornelia.

Before he could ask what was wrong, Cornelia had walked over to them and placed a hand on Byleth's cheek. "Oh dear, you are hurt," the older woman said and smiled. The grip on Dimitri's hand grew tighter to the point that it started to hurt. "Come." Cornelia moved to where her bed was and motioned for them to follow, but the young girl did not budge.

"I don't bite. You know that." Dimitri frowned at the tone Cornelia was using. Ever since she had returned from her trip last month, she started talking with a flirty tone; it was so unlike the sweet woman she was before. He had heard the rumors that she had taken on a lover and that was why she changed but could getting a lover change someone so much?

Byleth took a step closer to him and he returned her strong grip with his own. "Come now. I can't heal you from over there." He glanced at Byleth to see what she would do, it was hesitant, but she made her way over still holding his hand tightly. She sat on the bed and eyed the older woman, who was smiling.

"Your Highness, please stand outside."

"No," Byleth was quick to say and they stared at her.

"I know you two are eager to spend as much time together as you can, but I need the prince to stand outside so that I can do my check up."

"That is not necessary. I can tell you my wounds are superficial at best. My arm is only in this sling because of my father's worry." To see Byleth so defiant was a strange sight and he decided he wasn't going to leave her side.

"Dear, I should check on other things," Cornelia said calmly but Dimitri could hear the annoyance in her voice. "It would be improper for his highness to stay."

"I don't care." The smile finally left Cornelia's face.

"If you will not treat her wounds, we will go find someone else," Dimitri finally spoke up. For his reward Cornelia pressed her lips together and Byleth gave his hand a gentle squeeze. In silence the mage finally healed the girl and did nothing more.

When the treatment was done the children practically ran out of there. Byleth had dragged him far from that room. She had remained quiet the entire but once they had stopped, in what he assumed with a good distance for her, she released a shaky breath.

"By," Dimitri started but stopped until she looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"I…Is Cornelia alright?" Byleth asked and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Does she seem different to you?"

"She became more…bold." That was the word he decided to go with after a second of thinking. "But she has been fine for the most part. Why? Is something wrong?"

Silently she looked off to the side for a bit before shaking her head. "No, maybe it was just my imagination." He frowned and was going to ask for more but when she turned and smiled at him, he forgot everything. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime!" he blurted out so fast that it caused her to chuckle.

"Aster, I have a favor."

"What is it? I will do anything in my power!"

She chuckled slightly again. "I don't need so much dramatics." He cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I just…Don't ever leave me alone with Cornelia, please." He didn't really understand why she was asking such a thing, but he agreed to do so, nonetheless.

The two walked in silence, just basking in each other presence. Dimitri had no real destination in mind. He had been so focused on preparing for his birthday that he didn't really know what he was going to do for the next two months. Nervousness began to eat away at him as he finally realized that he was alone with the girl he liked.

He could feel his hands getting clammy and could only imagine at how much worse his hand that held hers was. He tried to steal a glance at her but chickened out and hated himself for it. How was he going to confess to her if he couldn't even bring himself to look at her?

Byleth took control of their walk and stared to guided him to a balcony. She looked out at the gardens below and smiled. His eyes, on the other hand, was glued to her visage because in the setting sun's light she looked breathtaking. Catching his stare, she looked at him and his cheeks redden as he looked away.

"Stop that," she said, and it took him a moment to guess what she was referring too.

In an overdramatic gesture, he threw her hand away and was waving his hands in front of him in a weird apologetic dance. Chuckling from her stopped him and once again he was staring at her. He was in love; he was sure of it.

"I meant stop growing." He frowned. "You are almost at my eye level and I don't like it."

"I am not going to stop growing," he declared. "In fact, I am going to get taller than you. That way it will make it easier for me to protect you!"

It was her turn to frown. "I don't want that. It will make it harder to pat your head." She reached out for his head, but he grabbed her hand, and they stared into each other eyes.

"I am not a little kid anymore By." At a loss for words all she could do was nod yes.

**Red Wolf Moon 1175:**

The twenty-first of the Red Wolf Moon came and with-it celebration for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus founding, along with a massive combat tournament where fighters from all classes, age, and nations could come and compete. At the age of fifteen Byleth was finally old enough to compete but her father and King Lambert had refused to let her and nothing she said or did could persuade them otherwise. She had even refused to speak to them, King Lambert nearly gave in but Jeralt had remained strong.

Dimitri had agreed with the adults much to her annoyance, though he was at least spared the silent treatment. He just didn't want her getting hurt, he didn't like seeing it. But when she stated that she would seek Glenn's help on secretly adding herself to the tournament he relented, if only so she wouldn't seek out Glenn.

Getting Byleth added to the tournament turned out to be surprisingly easy much to his dismay. All it took was getting one of the Kingdom's knights to agree to sign as Byleth's guardian. Dimitri didn't like how the knight had looked at her but then again, he didn't like how any man looked at her. He had hoped to fine no one to sign for her but now that it was done, he had no other choice but to resign to watching and praying that she didn't get seriously hurt.

Another downside that the prince didn't take into account with Byleth being in the tournament was that he couldn't spend the day with her. Sure, he had Felix, but a day of celebration provided a lot of date opportunities or at least that was what Sylvain had told him. He wandered through the stalls half-heartedly much to Felix's annoyance.

One lone stall managed to peak his attention enough to break him out of his gloom, it was a jeweler. Normally he had no interest in jewelry, but a necklace had caught his eye, it was a simple thing with a large dark blue gem being the only focal point. The gem had reminded him of Byleth's eyes. As he inspected it, he could just hear Sylvain teasing him about how all he has on his brain was her.

"Has that necklace caught your fancy?" the merchant asked, startling the prince out of his thoughts. Dimitri was about to speak, when he remembered Byleth telling him to never let merchants know that he was interested in something. He smiled at the merchant before silently going back to looking at the necklace.

Dimtiri held it up and liked how the sun sparkled off of it, just like with Byleth's eyes. His cheeks warmed as he did realize that his head was truly full of her. Twirling the gem between his fingers he wondered what to do.

"I'll sell it to you for 10 gold."

Was that a lot? Dimitri really had no idea, while he had been given money, people had taken over the spending duties for it. Byleth had usually taken over during the festival, determining what was fair price or not. He never learned her criteria for any of it. Pulling out his little bag that kept his money, he wondered if he should buy it or not. He didn't want to be short on money when it came time to buying her dress because he knew that Byleth would be against spending money on such a "useless" item. After hearing a story about how she had to go without food one time because her mercenary company had been short on money, he had vowed to never let Byleth spend her money when he was around. He would make sure she had enough money for food when she left, or at least he had hoped she would have enough.

Looking at the necklace one last time he decided to buy it. He was sure it would look nice on her. And a dress needed accessories, right? He hoped she would like it as he carefully pocketed the item.

* * *

Byleth stood before an amused Glenn and a disappointed Lord Rodrigue. After last year, she had developed complicated feelings for the lord and had been hoping to avoid him, but she knew that wasn't possible. She always knew she was going to have to meet him when Felix would visit during the Ethereal Moon, but at least then she would have been prepared.

Lord Rodrigue frowned at her. "If I recall you were not given permission to participate," he said, and she bit her lip. "Byleth," he stressed her name in order to get her to talk.

"Ease up father. It is not fair that she is not allowed to compete," Glenn said, and he winked at her. Warmth blossomed inside her chest and she smiled at him. She was glad to know her feelings on his father were not complicating her feelings towards him, whatever those strange feelings maybe.

"The both of you know exactly why she not allowed to compete." She hung her head and gritted her teeth.

"There is a magic barrier around the castle and those people would be mad to attack an area full of the Kingdom's best warriors." She vigorously nodded her head along as Glenn spoke.

The duke sighed and shook his head. "Let it be known that I am against this. Nor, will I stop any punishment King Lambert, or your father deem. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes. Thank you Lord Rodrigue," Byleth said as professionally as she could and bowed deeply. Long gone was the simple, friendly familiarity she had with the duke and she knew it was unfair to treat him in such away, but she couldn't help it. When she raised her head and saw that he was going to say something but quickly dropped it with a small shake of his head.

"I will wish you well at least," he said after a brief moment of silence and left.

The tension left her body once the lord was out of sight. Glenn clapped her on the back and smiled. She noticed that once his father was gone, he started to stand closer to her, which she was more than pleased with. The two stayed close together until the tournament started.

Seeing all the strong combats from the sidelines was something but seeing them up close and personal was another thing entirely. Her eyes were alight as she looked at all the warriors and noted the ones, she was familiar with. She felt a sense of pride swell within her as she could be counted among all them.

A young woman with long, blonde hair walked into view and Byleth's eyes followed her. The mercenary had seen the woman at the tournament before and she was incredibly powerful. Byleth had wanted to talk to her but there was a little problem, the woman was a Knight of Seiros. Priest, she could handle, for the most part as they were weak, but a knight was a different story and that woman was an even different story to that. The woman finally caught on to the young girl's staring and walked over.

Byleth stiffened once the knight was standing before her. "Who let the kid in?" the knight asked in a lighthearted tone.

"I'm not a kid!" Byleth said after she realized the light jab was directed at her.

The woman laughed and rubbed the mercenary's head, messing up the hair in the process. "Yes, you are." Byleth smacked the hand away and glared, causing the knight to laugh some more. "Looks like you got some fight in you, I'm looking forward to seeing how you do. Good luck, kid."

"Looks like Catherine likes you. You sure are quite the charmer," Glenn teased as he tried to smooth Byleth's hair. Once he was satisfied, he got closer to her and whispered into her ear, and a rush of heat flooded her cheeks, "Be careful around her. They say she might have been involved in a failed assassination attempt against the king."

With wide eyes she watched as Catherine walked away and noticed how people were avoiding her. She couldn't believe it, Catherine seemed so nice. Sure, she was a Knight of Seiros and that made her a little scary but Byleth didn't sense anything bad about her.

"Why is she here?" She looked at Glenn, who shrugged a little.

"After the accusations came to light, she fled to the church where she was granted asylum. I cannot figure out why she keeps coming to these tournaments, despite it being well known that she is distrusted."

She looked in the direction that Catherine and walked in, but she was no longer in sight. She was having an incredibly hard time believing such news. Frowning, she had decided to believe in the rumors, if only to so that she could better protect King Lambert if needed.

The announcer could be heard, signaling that the tournament was going to start soon, and everyone scrambled to their proper locations. Glenn waved goodbye as she rushed to her spot. From what she was informed she was going to be in the second match, and she needed to get ready soon, because from what she remembered battles are either long and drawn out, or over in a flash.

She stood before the tunnel she will enter from, in a matter of a few minutes as she could hear the sounds of battle dwindling down. Nervous energy flowed through her and she took a deep breath, but the energy didn't settle. Gripping her dull sword, she hoped it would help ground her, but it didn't.

* * *

Dimitri sat with his father and stepmother in the assigned royal seating. He was trying to act like nothing was wrong but was failing miserably at being able to sit still. Every few seconds he would have to shift his position, catching his father's attention.

"Dimitri are you alright?" his father asked after being unable to focus on the match before him. Flinching, Dimitri tried to sit still. The king's eyes drifted downward to the nobles' seating below and noticed the spot next to Felix, where Byleth normally sat in, was empty. "Is By, still mad?"

"Yes," the prince was able to say with ease and for that he was grateful. He didn't believe he would be able to lie to his father but that wasn't a lie at least.

Sighing dramatically, King Lambert shifted towards his wife, who showed slight amusement. "My daughter is still angry at me. Will my heart ever know peace again?" The queen consort laughed a little.

"You should have taken her feelings into account," the queen consort said.

"It is too dangerous to take the risk. I do not want to deny her anything but to keep her safe I must. I hope she will understand soon. I despise her not talking to me."

Dimitri flinched in his chair. All he had known was that Byleth wasn't allowed to compete, he didn't know it was to protect her. Guilt was pulling in his stomach and he was torn between betraying Byleth and telling his father or letting her compete. He didn't want her to hate him, but he didn't want her to be in danger either.

Before he could make the decision, the announcer shouted the next combatants and Byleth was one of them. His face was bright red when he realized that she had used his middle name as her fake last name. All he could think about in the next moment was if she liked his middle name more and if she could take on that name instead of Blaiddyd.

His father's shout broke him out of his train of thought. His father quickly turned to him and he tried to shrink into his chair. Taking a deep breath, the king sat back into his chair and smiled at the few nobles that had turned around to look at him, after his little outburst.

"Dimitri, what is the meaning of this?" the king asked with a practiced even tone.

"By, said she was going to compete no matter what," his son answered weakly.

The king was about to rise from his seat but was stopped when his wife placed her hand on his. Her professional smile gave away into a genuine one as she watched Byleth fight. He placed his hand over hers and tried to gently move it, but she refused to budge.

"You will not stop this fight," she said after a moment, her eyes still glued to the match. "Everyone is already aware that she is here. The Kingdom's strongest knights are here as well. She will be safe. The least you could do for now is cheer for her."

The king sat back and groaned. He wanted to rub his face but had to resist the urge. He had tried to watch as she had suggested but another groan quickly escaped him.

"Her father is going to kill me."

"I see. When she is well behaved, she is your daughter but when she does something displeasing, she is suddenly not your daughter?"

"My queen, you have no idea how truly terrifying her father can be."

Dimitri silently watched the fight. He wanted to cheer for her but knew that the royal family wasn't allowed to show favoritism so all he could do was whisper his cheers. With the cat out of the bag, he felt a great weight off his shoulders, and he could finally enjoy the day properly.

* * *

Once outside of the ring and out of the sight of the crowed, Byleth released a shaky breath. Her opponent had been incredibly easy but because of all the eyes on her, she found it to be quite difficult to concentrate. Now out of the limelight she could relax or so she would have liked but she was half expecting for knights to show up and drag her away, after her disobedience had come to light.

When the next round passed and no knights came, she decided to be brave and go watch the other combats. Glenn was up next to face a seasoned knight from the Gaspard region. It was a knight she recognized but she had confidence that Glenn would have no trouble.

Bouncing on the balls of her feet she watched as Glenn rushed forward. His heavy swing was blocked with ease because of a shield and the knight thrusted forward with his own attack. The Fraldarius heir was able to dodge with a twist of his body and the knight was quick to pull back and hide behind his shield. Glenn didn't let up and continued his assault with a powerful swing after another, not allowing the knight to counterattack unless he made himself vulnerable.

Glenn kept up his assault, until his crest activated, and the especially powerful blow knocked back the knight a bit. Capitalizing on the opening, Glenn slipped in and slashed at the arm, holding the shield, knocking it away before using his hilt to bash it against the wrist supporting the sword. With the knight successfully disarmed, Glenn was crowned the winner.

Not long after the bout Glenn had joined her in watching the rest of the matches. Each praise she gave him only caused his smile to grow. A blush soon grew on his face as she described how incredible he looked out on the field; in a detail one normally didn't expect to hear. He effectively got her to stop, when he had started to complement her, and he had earned her blush.

Round one ended with no real surprises, but the crowd was still excited, nonetheless. She found herself now in the opening match with the winner, from the first match before hers, as her opponent. He was a tall, man that seemed to be in his late twenties and was wearing armor way to polished for battle. On the showy cape he wore, bore his family's crest that she didn't recognized but then again, she would be hard pressed to recognize anyone's crest outside of her friends'. He goaded the crowded and basked in their praise delaying the start of the match. His showboating at least allowed her to get comfortable with the crowd or at least she was too annoyed to really care about them anymore.

Finally, the announcer stepped in to start the fight. Byleth stood her ground waiting for him to strike and he did swiftly. He might have been far too flamboyant for her liking, but he did have skills at least. His strikes were swift and left no openings to exploit; she was pleasantly surprised. She was quickly able to assess that he favored thrust and that his weapon of choice was more than likely a rapier, instead of the plain, old, blunt, iron sword all combatants were forced to use.

Despite her earlier surprise, his tactics quickly became predictable and boring. He never really deviated from thrusting forward unless it was to block a strike from her. Biting back a sigh, she waited for him to lung forward and she slipped a little to the side to avoid it and then she slammed her hilt down near the base of his sword, causing his grip to loosen but he did manage to surprise her again by holding on to it.

Ready to end the fight, she slashed upward at him. Her eyes widen when she felt the telltale signs of her crest activating and she saw her expression reflected by him. Despite wearing multiple layers of clothing her crest still managed to glow brightly, like a beacon in the night, and she swore. She didn't need it to activate then, the match had already been won. So why did the damn thing have to go and activate? How was she supposed to keep her crest a secret when it liked revealing itself to the world?

She was quick to thank her opponent for the good fight and left. She tried to hide herself in the waiting area. Surely now King Lambert was going to send knights to drag herself away. Burying her face into her hands she groaned, it was only then did she realized how foolish she had been. She was so focused on her mysterious attackers and getting stronger to defeat them that she never took into account her crest or about the possibility of it activating.

"You, Byleth Alexandre," a male voice called. Biting back a groan she turned to face the person, who called her, and wasn't shocked to discover that it was her opponent. "You have a crest do you not?"

She bit her bottom lip. Lying would be pointless, not only did he see it, but he also felt the strange energy from it. Chewing on her lip she prevented a sigh from escaping her as she admitted to having one.

"Which crest do you poses?"

Blinking she desperately tried to recall what crest had been similar to her mysterious crest. "Cichol?" She eventually decided on and his eyes narrowed.

"The same crest as Saint Cichol?" She instantly regretted on choosing that one, but she had no other choice but to commit to it. "And judging by how brightly it glowed and how strong that power I felt, it must be a major crest, no?" She wasn't sure where he was going with all this, but she nodded yes anyway.

The air around him suddenly changed and she no longer felt comfortable under his gaze. With a little bow she tried to walk away but he grabbed her hand. Maintaining eye contact he brought her hand up to lips and kissed it; unlike all the times that Sylvain did it, she felt disgusted. She lightly pulled at her hand to free it, but he just increased his grip.

"What do you say to becoming my wife?" Unable to fathom the words to express her utter shock she could only stare at him. "As the wife of a noble, you will get to live a life of luxury. I will see to it that you will live a life without want." He increased his grip. "And all you will have to do is bare my children with that crest of yours."

A shiver ran down her spine and she tried to pull at her hand again but with much more effort. His smile turned much more sinister to her as he tried to pull her towards him. A strong grip on her shoulders stopped the man and she looked up to see Glenn, glaring at the man before her. With a sigh of relief, she leaned back into him.

"Can I help you with something?" Glenn asked in a calm tone.

The other man made his displeasure known and kept his grip on Byleth's hand. "This does not concern you Fraldarius boy."

"Oh, but it does. You see, Byleth here is my friend and she does not seem to be enjoying your company." Glenn squeezed her shoulders and the man flickered his eyes between her and Glenn.

"I see," the noble said after a while. "Your little brother possesses a major crest does he not? Must be shameful to be the older one and only posse a minor one." Glenn gritted his teeth and squeezed her shoulders harder. "You must be hoping that she will help you regain some honor by producing you a child with a major crest, but I am truly sorry to inform you that your shame will remain."

"You know," Glenn said calmly, "you sure do talk a lot for a minor noble with no crest in his family's name." Glenn pulled her hand free and guided her away from that noble as far away as he could. They were completely silent through their walk. His jaw remained locked as he stared ahead, never sparing her a glance until they came to a stop.

"Glenn," Byleth called softly as she reached out to him.

He took a deep breath before addressing her, "I truly am sorry that you had to experience that." She simply shook her head and rubbed his arm, in a hopeful attempt to calm him down some. Carefully, he took the hand that the noble, had held, and brushed his own lips against it. She felt her pulse quicken as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Minor nobles are desperate for a crest and will try to wed anyone that possess a crest, regardless of what it is. They usually promise the word to those people, but I hear it is hell to them, especially to those that are unable to bear a child with a crest." A shiver ran down her spine. "They are treated as nothing more than breeders with little value outside of their crest."

Her free hand touched the area where her crest was. She just thought it was dangerous because it was such an unknown thing…To think she had something for more worrisome to worry about it. She didn't think she was capable hating the mark on her chest more than she already was.

"Do not worry, I will not let that man or any other man with such filthy intentions come near you." He stared into her eyes, when he made his claim and all she could do was silently nod.

The stood in silence until the current match ended and they both realized that Glenn was next. He cursed under his breath as his eyes darted around, searching for a solution to his problem. She placed her hand on his arm and gave him a smile and he was at the mercy of her gaze. With a light push she tried to get him to move but he refused.

Gripping the hand, that he still held, he pulled her towards him, until he could wrap his arms around her. Taking a deep breath, he whispered into her hair, "It will not take me long." With her free hand she rubbed his arm and pulled back some.

"I will be alright. Just focus on your match," she said with a smile. He frowned down at her. "Now that I know I will be able to better protect myself."

He pulled her in again but not for a hug but to leave a small kiss on her forehead. With cheeks ablaze she stared up at him and he stared down at her with wide eyes. She was about to ask him what that was about, but he swore loudly. He turned away from her and left without saying another word. Clutching her chest, she tried to figure out where the sharp, sudden pain came from as she watched him walk away.

Glenn's match went absolutely terribly. His mind was clearly elsewhere and his opponent, Catherine, did not let any of his mistakes go unpunished. Eventually the female knight was crowned the winner. Glenn avoided Byleth after the match but did at lease remain relatively close to keep an eye on her, though he would not meet her gaze.

Byleth's match did not go as well as she would have liked but she was at least better at focusing than Glenn. Her opponent played more defensively, which meant she wasn't nearly so punished for her mistakes. It took some effort, but she was finally able to overcome her opponent and advance to the next round. Though she was disheartened to see Glenn was still avoiding her.

To spice up the fifth round the contestants were shuffled up. Byleth no longer fought in the opening match and was now the final match for that round and her opponent was Catherine. She knew that the knight wasn't someone to underestimate, she needed to focus but she did find it hard too. Struggling to push Glenn out of her thoughts, she readied herself for the match to start.

Just like Glenn, Catherine was quick to rush at her opponent and overwhelm them but unlike Glenn she had the speed to be especially devastating. Byleth was able to block the first strike but the second one came before she was properly ready. She was still able to hold off each strike though she was doing a relatively poor job at it, or at least that was what she believed. Suddenly there was an absurdly powerful blow thrown in the mix, followed by a standard strike, which was then followed by another absurd powerful one again. She didn't see a glow of a crest but that could have been because it was on Catherine's back but even if it was a crest she never had to deal with a crest activating so much; usually it was a onetime deal in a fight.

Another powerful strike and she could feel her grip shaking; she needed space, so she swung wide to get it. Her hands trembled and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle another blow like that. She tried to grip her sword tighter, but her hands weren't having it.

"I think my crest likes you," Catherine laughed.

"How is it activating so much?" Byleth asked in return.

"Benefits of a major crest." Byleth pouted. She supposedly had a major crest, but the damn thing activated so rarely that if she didn't have a mark on her chest, she might have forgotten that she even possessed one. If she was going to have the damn thing it might as well, make itself useful.

Knowing that it would be impossible to use Catherine's strength against her, Byleth charged forward. If she could keep her offense going on her end, then hopefully that would prevent the knight's crest from activating. Unfortunately for her, her weak grip meant her strikes were weak as well.

Catherine was able to block each strike with ease though her opponent was keen on not letting her counter. To give herself the opening she needed, she slashed upwards right when the younger girl slashed downward, throwing her off balance. Catherine then struck at the girl's stomach with her sword's hilt, and much to both of their dismays her crest activated.

A hand quickly flew to Byleth's mouth, while the other snaked around her stomach as she dropped to her knees. She was able to swallow the bile that came up, saving herself some embarrassment, but it did leave a vile taste in her mouth. Groaning she rested her head on the ground as she didn't know what was worse the pain in her stomach or the taste in her mouth. She felt a soothing hand rub her back and she groaned.

"Oh geez, I'm really sorry about that kid," Catherine said as soothingly as she could.

The match ended in the most embarrassing defeat Byleth could have imagined.

* * *

That day had been one incredible day for Byleth in so many ways. She finally got to enter the tournament she had been desiring to do so for so many years, developed another fear of her crest, got a weird but wonderful moment with Glenn though she still wasn't sure want to make of it or his avoidance, and lost the tournament in the most embarrassing way. And now that day was going to end with a punishment.

She stood silently in the king's office before both the king and her father. Dimitri and the queen consort had stood in the back, watching. Both men stared down at her with their arms folded across their chest. King Lambert might have looked intimidating in his own regard but next to her father, he might as well have been a growling puppy with how much ferocity he could command compared to the other man.

"Byleth," her father stared in an eerily calm tone that King Lambert flinched from. "I denied you from entering that tournament and yet you went and disobeyed me." She said nothing as this was the first time, she ever disobeyed her father, but he had been so stubborn and refused to listen to her reasonings.

"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Nothing, you are not going to listen to me anyway," she said and matched her father's stare.

"Teenage rebellion from my daughter?! My heart is not ready!" King Lambert said and when he noticed Jeralt's glare, he started to fidget a little. "I-I mean, Sir captain Jeralt's daughter!"

"I will not tolerate such an attitude," Jeralt said shifting his attention back to his daughter.

"I've been wanting to compete in that tournament for years!"

"One more year wouldn't have made a difference."

She stomped her foot. "I need to see where I stand! To see how much stronger, I need to get! I don't want to rely on others forever!"

"And for that you are willing to put yourself in danger?!"

Unable to find the words to express her argument better she could only glare at her father. He continued to explain how idiotic her actions were and all she could do was bite her lip in frustration. Her father only stopped when the queen consort stood behind her. Ever so lightly the queen consort placed her hands on Byleth's shoulders.

"You men need to stop," Lady Patricia said. Her voice was gentle but commanding. Byleth had never heard such a tone from the woman before that she almost didn't believe that it came from her. "Byleth is moving pass her trauma and you are trying to hold her back. I will not stand by and watch anymore."

Both of the men's eyes widen and the stared at the queen. "Byleth is far stronger than any of you are giving her credit for. After what she has experienced, she went out and declared herself to the world, while most would have hidden themselves away. The both of you should be incredibly proud of her," she paused to smile down at Byleth, who was watching her in amazement, "I know that I am."

A warmth blossomed in the young girls' chest as she looked up Lady Patricia. The older woman than proceeded to run her fingers through Byelth's hair. It was such a comforting action that Byleth loved it and secretly wished that the queen would do more often.

After the queen consort's little speech, it was agreed that Byleth would not receive any punishment and that she would be given more freedom. She did however gain a knight that would shadow her. At first, she had complained but after a while the knight's presence did give her comfort.

Dimitri was being the ever gentleman by escorting Byleth to her room. Halfway through their little walk, he had worked up the courage to hold her hand and walk next to her. Slowly he closed the little distance between them until they were walking side by side. His cheeks were a nice shade of pink, but his smile was ever present, along with hers.

"I am glad that you did not receive a punishment," Dimitri said.

"Me too but I must admit that I am a little disappointed," Byleth said and he looked at her. "I never disobeyed my father before, so I was curious as to see what he would do. Though he probably would have had it where I would spend less time with you, and I wouldn't want that." His face quickly grew bright red and he had to look away from her.

"I am glad that Lady Patricia was able to realize my attentions." Unable to look at her, he could only hum. "I'm jealous that you get to see her every day."

"You know," Dimitri said after his face had cold down some, "you could too, if you become a knight." She simply shook her head and he pouted.

They walked in silence, she found his pout cute and she found it hard to work up the resolve to make it go away. When they got to her room, they had discovered that Glenn was waiting in front of it. His expression was somber, and eyes rested on their interlocked hands. He brows furrowed and he glared but his expression quickly fell into a neutral one after he sighed.

"Byleth, may I speak to you in private?" Glenn asked and his voice was strained. She had walked forward but Dimitri didn't release her hand. "Please, Your Highness." Pressing his lips together the prince finally let go. Glenn had only ever called him by his title as a tease, but that tone was something else and Dimitri didn't like it.

Glenn had led her to a small secluded section in the gardens. It was starting to snow, and she was freezing but he didn't seem to notice. He was silent the entire time and kept his back to her. She wanted to reach out to him, but she was too busy clutching herself to conserve heat.

Finally, after a deep sigh he turned to face her and noticed her shivering. "Forgive me. I did not think this through," he said and looked off to the side, "I promise to make this quick". He said that but he quickly fell back into silence.

Working up the strength to pull one arm free she reached out to him, but he stepped away from her shaky grasp. Several times he opened his mouth to speak and several times he closed it before he could make a sound. He was unable to bring himself to look at her.

"Glenn?" she finally called softly.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her and finally looked at her. "About what happened today, in the waiting area, please forget it." She frowned and shook her head. With downcast eyes he turned away from her again.

"Byleth listen…These feelings…You and I…We…," He sighed as he struggled with what thought he wanted to work with. "It will not work out."

"What won't?"

"…Us…" She furrowed her brows and tilted her head. "I…," he paused to take a deep breath, "we should avoid each other. It will be for the best."

"I don't want too!" He clenched his fists tightly.

"I am sorry. But we have gotten too close. We cannot be together, so we should simply stop here. Save us the heartache."

He quickly walked away and never looked back even when she shouted his name. She clutched her chest as even more sharp and an intense pain than what she had felt earlier gripped her. Her eyes moisten and her upper lip trembled as she stared at the direction, he walked away in. These feelings were so overwhelming that she was unable to move until her knight found her and guided her back inside.

The walk back to her room was done in a haze as her mind was in a far to chaotic mess to focus. She had only realized that she arrived when Dimitri had called out to her. Without warning she collapsed onto him in an embrace. He yelped out in surprise and she ignored it as she buried her face into his shoulders and enjoyed his comforting scent of cedar and earth. Slowly his arms wrapped around her.

"Are you alright?" he asked with his face enflamed.

"My chest hurts," she said simply.

"Should I take you to the infirmary?" She chuckled at how fast panic filled his voice.

She shook her head and continued to hug him. Dimitri always made her feel better no matter what negative emotions she was feeling. Surely, he could make the strange pain go away. She believed that as she held him tighter.

* * *

A/N: Am I just not capable of not writing a chapter where something bad doesn't happens to Byleth now? Do I hate my poor child?! *Slams hands on the table* I promised you fluff last chapter and I gave you a small bit, but next chapter there will be fluff don't you worry!

Head cannon notes:

I always considered the Almyarains to be Arabic so that's what I was trying to go with when it came to Muharib. If the translation is a little funky. Blame Google as I don't claim to be expert in Arabic.

The Jeralt Mercenaries used to refer to Blyeth as kid, just like her father. But after learning who her little friend was, they have all started to affectionally call her princess, much to her father's frustration.

In smaller towns were schools of sorcery are not to be found, the church will offer lessons on how to use Faith magic, and Faith magic only. Their goal is to get more people to be healers as well as spread their teachings through their lessons.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone and welcome to the chapter that just wouldn't end! I split the year in two so that I wouldn't end up with a ridiculously long chapter and I still came pretty close. I hope you all enjoy the fluff I have brought!

Ages:

Byleth: 15

Dimitri: 12

Felix: 11

Sylvain: 14

Ingrid: 11

Glenn: 17

* * *

**Ethereal Moon 1175:**

**Seventh of the Ethereal Moon:**

Dimitri was in the final countdown for his plan. He only had a few weeks left to convince his father, get Byleth ready for the ball, as well as cheer her up. After her talk with Glenn, during the night of the tournament, she had been dejected. She wouldn't tell him what they had talked about nor could she explain why she had been feeling that way. It was awful seeing her that way and being unable to do anything to change it.

Glenn had been staying in the castle to further his training and so at one-point Dimitri had stormed over to him and to get some answers as well as make the older boy apologize. But after discovering that Glenn was even more depressed than Byleth, left the prince with more questions than answers. It would have been so much easier if he had someone to blame for everything or at least knew what was going on.

Byleth, at least, started to cheer up when Sylvain and Felix arrived, though Felix did seem to stir some mix feelings from her. Sylvain had decided that the best way to cheer her up was through distractions, and the best distraction was dance practice, he proclaimed. She had complained at first but went along with it regardless.

Dimitri had teaching her dance before the start of the Ethereal Moon but had many problems that prevented them from progressing too much. His biggest issue had been Byleth's lack of interest and refusal to practice dance when she had a tournament to train for, so she had only allowed a small portion of her day to be dedicated to dancing. The other issues had all been on him and his chaotic thoughts. Being alone with her and touching her excited him in ways, he didn't want her to see; and on top of that was just his general nervousness. Having Sylvain and Felix around, greatly helped him.

Sylvain was a natural when it came to teaching her how to dance. She molded well with him and he glided her across the dancefloor, in a way Dimitri hoped that he could one day do. It was easy for the red head as he didn't have the nerves that held him back, like Dimitri, nor did he have a disdain for dancing like Felix; Sylvain simply enjoyed it as it didn't have anything to do with weapons training or preparing himself to wield the Lance of Ruin. Besides teaching Byleth was good practice for when he would dance with ladies that also had little experience.

Felix hated dancing with a passion. He wanted to help Dimitri, but couldn't there be anything else he could do other than dance? Anything else at all? It was so annoying having to hold his hands in a certain way, had to move a certain way, make sure his footing was always right, as well as constantly maintain eye contact with his partner; it was all so incredibly irritating. When Byleth had pointed out that that was the same for swordplay he was insulted to hear such a thing, from her of all people, but when she started to wonder if she could incorporate dance moves into sword fighting to help with her dexterity did Felix start to take a small interest in dancing.

Dancing with Dimitri wasn't going as well as it was for the others. With the presence of his friends, he at least didn't get an unwanted visitor as often but when it did visit, it just made for an even more awkward situation than when he was just left alone with her. Dimitri didn't possess the suave or grace of Sylvain nor did he have skills like Felix, he had started to wonder if he should even bother trying to teach her. Sylvain did try to encourage the prince by stating that he was also practicing for their first real dance but that ended up backfiring and made Dimitri more nervous. Despite everything Byleth was progressing smoothly, though no one was surprise at that.

The biggest hurdle, Dimitri had to face was convincing his father to let Byleth attend his birthday ball. After the five years that he had known her, she ha dsaved his life twice, and yet she still couldn't attend, and he couldn't understand why. She had done far more for him than any of those other nobles; it was just so unfair to him. He didn't care if his birthday was a chance for him to get to know eligible bachelorettes; his heart already belonged to Byleth and he was sure his father could see that.

King Lambert sat behind his desk sighing as he set all his work aside. He had listened to the same argument for the past five years and he didn't know how else to better explain it to Dimitri that Byleth just couldn't attend. He didn't like denying her either and was grateful that she never tried to push to attend. Besides the close bond the children shared, she had also demonstrated more than her share worth as to why she should be able to attend but the nobles that argued against her never cared to listen to such information. They would argue that she was already receiving special treatment and that the prince's birthday was an entirely different matter that they would not budge on.

The biggest opposition to Byleth attending was her birth and sex. While King Lambert wanted to start breaking down the barriers that separated the nobles from the commoners, it was going dreadfully slow to the point that nothing had really changed in all the years that he had been working on it. So, having a commoner attend the crown prince's birthday was just pure insanity to the many nobles that wanted the status quo to remain; and on top of all that Byleth was a girl. It was expected for Dimitri to choose a bride from one of the women that attended his birthday and as such Byleth was considered a threat in that regard.

King Lambert already knew that the "eligible" women didn't stand a chance. His son had noticed that Byleth was a woman and now Dimitri was looking at her fondly. It was a love he couldn't foster; Dimitri would have to wed a noble, less his rule be challenged, and yet the father couldn't bring himself to destroy such young, innocent love. He was terrible, he fostered it, he called her his daughter, he let his son build a hope that shouldn't exist. He wanted to let the love blossom, he wanted Byleth to officially be his daughter, but he couldn't. He needed to stop it before it could bloom out of control, but he could not muster up the strength or will to put an end to it.

"Dimitri," king Lambert said, interrupting his son's long-winded argument. "We have been over this, By cannot go to your birthday." He may not be able to bring himself to stop the budding romance, but he could at least put a limit on it, despite how much he hated doing so.

"That is not fair!" Dimitri argued back, the same argument he said for the last five years.

The father fought back a sigh, his son usually would eventually give up and storm out of the room, but Dimitri was adamant that year. "Dimitri, why are you pursing it so strongly this year?" A splash of red, adored his son's pale face and he did not like that. He was afraid of where this was going, and what the birthday actually met to his son.

"By, saved my life twice now. She was attacked last year because she helped me. It is only fair that she should be allowed to attend my birthday." He went right for his father's heart. King Lambert was at a loss for words. He didn't know when his son developed such manipulative tactics because what was he supposed to say to that?

The two stared at each other for a bit before the father gave in. Jeralt was right, he was too soft. He couldn't stop Dmitri, his son was going to fall deeper into a doomed love, and all because he couldn't bring himself to stop it. His hopes laid with Byleth falling in love with someone else, which would surely put a stop to Dimitri's feelings. But the thought of Byleth falling for anyone that wasn't his son was an incredibly irritating thought to him.

**Twelfth of the Ethereal Moon:**

On the night before the twelfth, Ingrid had finally arrived, which meant the next part of the plan could be put into action, finding Byleth a dress. Dimitri only wanted the very best for her but the best meant placing an ordered back in the beginning of the Verdant Moon and the seamstress would have needed Byleth present for measurements, so the next option was for the girls to go into town and hopefully find a dress. He didn't like having to rely on luck but there was little he could do at the moment.

The ride into town was pleasant, at least to Byleth it was. Ingrid, on the other hand, was a pile of nerves thanks to Dimitri. In ordered to try and keep everything a secret, Dimitri had given Ingrid the money to hold, all near 500 gold pieces; she had never seen so much money in her life. She was on constant alert about where the money was at all time and was always looking over her shoulder.

When they finally arrived at their destination, a grand boutique, to say that Byleth was disappointed would have been an understatement; she held back her complaints when Ingrid practically shoved her in. Byleth did not know there could be so many different versions of dresses or why there was a need for so many styles in the first place. When she was finally told that they were there to pick out a dress for her, for the first time in her life, she struggled to keep a neutral expression on her face.

The mercenary bit her tongue every time a new dress was thrusted upon her. Ingrid was clearly out of her element, so it was a complete mystery to the older girl as to why they were there. The young noble wasn't even picking out a dress for herself, baffling Byleth even more.

After trying on a seventh dress, Byleth finally had enough. "Can we please stop?" she asked as she bit back a sigh, when she saw Ingrid approaching with two more dresses.

"No, we have to find you a dress!" Ingrid said, handling her friend a new dress but Byleth didn't budge.

"What's the point of me having a dress?"

"Every girl needs at least one dress." Ingrid was unable to maintain eye contact after that comment.

"As a mercenary having unnecessary items is impractical. A dress would only take up precious space."

"You can just leave it, in your room at the castle." Byleth sighed.

Accepting her fate, Byleth, took the new dress offered and slipped into the changing room to put it on to the best of her ability (Ingrid had to often help). She managed to slip on the dress with no problem but was unable to tie the back of it, so it hung loosely on her. Looking at herself in the mirror she sighed. It was the first dress to fit her chest comfortably but that was because it stopped short of just covering it, but it did a remarkable job at showing off her cleavage as well as her crest. While she would prefer not showing off her chest, she at least had gotten used to all the men staring at it; she even caught Dimitri staring at it from time to time. At least the dress was a nice deep, green color that was the only good thing Byleth could say about it.

Biting back another sigh, she pulled open the curtains so that Ingrid could help finish getting the dress situated. After the tying was done, she twirled around to show it off, despite showing more than she was comfortable with it, it at least was comfortable to wear and offered her the best movement ability. Starring at Byleth's crest for a second, Ingrid held up the next dress, but Byleth had refused.

"This one is fine," Byleth said with a shake of her head. "This is the first dress that I have tried on where I can breathe properly. Lets just take it and go."

"But your…" Ingrid started but was unable to bring herself to say it, so she just gestured to her chest with a general circling of her hand.

"It's fine, I've already become accustomed to the staring."

Ingrid frowned. "But your crest is visible."

Lightly, Byleth's fingers brushed against her crest. "My crest doesn't look like any known crest and it's much too large and it's only half of a design so I doubt anyone would suspect that it's a crest." She briefly froze when she remembered the noble, from the tournament, and was starting to have second thoughts about the dress. She glanced back at the other dress in Ingrid's hands and decided that she would just make do, less she have to try on seven more. "I could probably get way with just calling it a tattoo." Ingrid frowned, knowing that a tattoo, especially in such a place, would only be looked at poorly by nobility.

"But…wouldn't it be dangerous if people were to discover it?"

"Those of who I was probably supposed to keep it a secret from, already know. There's little point in hiding it anymore." She looked at Ingrid, who still had her doubts. "It's fine Daisy. I rather get this done and over with so that we can go try out that tea house that you said was good."

Ingrid said no more and helped Byleth undress. The dress was then carefully folded before they took it to the boutique's owner for a purchase. The older woman narrowed her eyes at the children, before her, when they handed her the dress.

"You have good taste," the woman said in a tone that Byleth didn't like, but she said nothing. "That will be 100 gold."

"100 gold?!" both girls yelled in unison and the woman turned up her nose at them.

"Come along Daisy," Byleth said after her shook wore off.

"Wait. I have the money for it," Ingrid said as she shakily dug into Dimitri's bag of money. Byleth had tried to complain but the money was still exchanged, leaving her in utter shock.

She refused to look to look at Ingrid as they walked to their carriage. She was desperately trying to figure out how many months of food supplies she could have bought for her mercenary company and how it was all wasted on one stupid dress. Once inside the carriage Byleth had put the dress in a spot that was out of sight as she could no longer look at it.

* * *

That night Ingrid pulled all the guys together to explain the dress situation. Dimitri and Sylvain were excited for an update, while Felix couldn't have care less and wished he was training with Byleth and Jeralt. They had huddled quietly together in Sylvain's room, just in case Byleth's training had ended early and she went to Dimitri's room.

"We have a bit of a problem," Ingrid started off saying. By the instant panic that flooded Dimitri's features, she wished she had chosen a better selection of words to start off with. "We got her a dress," she was quick to say, and the tension soon left Dimitri, as her as well.

"What is the problem then?" Felix asked to get the whole thing over with.

"The dress shows off By's cleavage."

"So? That sounds exactly like the opposite of a problem," Sylvain laughed. "She has a nice chest; she should show it off more." Both Ingrid and Dimitri started glaring at him, but he didn't seem to care. "I am sure his highness will not be complaining when he gets to see it." He winked at the prince.

Dimitri turned bright red and Ingrid smacked her fist on top of Sylvain's head, who complained loudly. "Her crest is visible, you pervert!" There was a collective "oh" from the boys. "We are supposed to be keeping her crest a secret right?"

"Why did you buy the dress then?" Felix asked.

"By was tired of dress shopping. And she said it was too late already, that the people she was supposed to keep her crest secret from already know."

"Can we cover it with a scarf or something?" Dimitri asked and Ingrid shook her head.

"I do not think we can. At least not in a way that will be decent looking."

"Can we cover it with make up then?" Sylvain asked.

"I do not think so either. It is so large and red that it will require a lot of make-up. Might make her chest look weird."

"I know a major crest is big, but it honestly can not be that large." Sylvain walked over to Felix and pulled up the younger boy's shirt revealing his major crest on his stomach, much to Felix's annoyance. "We could easily cover up Felix's crest. By's should not be that much more difficult."

"Her crest is larger."

"Larger than Felix's?" Ingrid nodded and Felix's smacked Sylvain's hand away so that he could pull his shirt down. "But her crest is not complete right?" Everyone nodded. "And it is already larger than Felix's?" Ingrid nodded. "What kind of crest does she have?"

Everyone brainstormed ways to cover up Byleth's crest, but without the young woman present to practice on, all ideas were pointless. Eventually the decided that they would just trust Byleth's judgement and agreed to all keep an eye on her and anyone suspicious that might approach her. They all scattered to Dimitri's room when their talks were done to wait for Byleth to join them for a game of cards or something.

**Ninetieth of the Ethereal Moon:**

It was only that day that Byleth had been finally informed that she would be attending Dimitri's birthday ball. What Dimitri thought would be happy news, only seemed to upset her to discover such a thing at the last moment. She had spent the remainder of the day avoiding everyone so that she could mentally prepare herself for the next day.

That was the first time Byleth was ever angry with him and he was besides himself. Both Sylvain and Ingrid had tried to convince him to tell her at least a week in advance but he didn't listen; he wanted it to be a big surprise. And now he was afraid that she wouldn't come or even wish him a happy birthday.

Working up the courage and hoping to stop her being angry with him, Dimitri knocked on her door that night. He fiddled with the bottom of his tunic while his other hand reached into his pocket to make sure that the necklace was there. When he heard her voice from the other side, a sigh of relief escaped him but when the doorknob started to turn his nerves came back with vengeance. She had opened the door just enough to peak out and see who it was, and he smiled at her.

"By," he started but quickly stopped thanks to his nerves getting the better of him. She pushed open her door to let him in and he looked at her for a second and then rushed inside before she could change her mind. His eyes scanned her room, despite the room being exclusively hers, she hadn't decorated it in the slightest, outside of all the gifts she had received last year from him and his father. Across her lone chair was her dress and his mind wondered to what she would look like wearing it.

The sound of the door closing broke him out of his train of thoughts. He glanced back and her and noticed that she was looking away from him and had her arms folded across her chest. With little warning to her, he bowed deeply and offered her his humblest apologies.

"Raise your head Aster!" Byleth demanded with her agitation clear in her voice. A small smile worked its way onto his face that he refused to let her see. He always enjoyed it when he was able to catch her off guard; it was such a rare thing for him. "You are forgiven."

"But are you still made at me?" he asked, and he was still in his bow. She sighed and he dared to raise his head to look at her. Her arms remained folded across her chest and she was staring at her dress with a neutral expression.

He broke out of his bow and rushed to her side. He gripped one of her arms as he tried to get her to look at him. "I am truly sorry for what I have done. By, please come to my party!" Finally, she looked at him and tilted her head. "Please, I want you there."

"I will go." She placed her free hand over his that gripped her arm, a bit too tightly. "When did I say that I wouldn't go?"

Sheepishly, he looked away. "I thought because you were angry…"

Sighing again, she rubbed his arm until he looked at her. "Yes, I am mad, but I will still go." She smiled softly. "I will always go to your birthday, if I can."

"Then why are you angry?"

The smile left her face and was replaced with a frown. "I needed to mentally prepare myself."

He furrowed his brows. She had told him that earlier but neither he nor their friends knew what that meant. "Mentally prepare yourself for what?"

Yet another sigh escaped her as she walked over to the dress. "Nobles don't like me."

"What? Who? I will talk to them!" Looking over her shoulder she smiled at him.

"You will probably have to talk to nearly every noble in all of Fodlan." He frowned at that.

"How can anyone not like you? Youareprefect,wonderful,kind,beautiful,andsomuchmore." With cheeks a blaze he cursed himself for not being able to properly say all that. He only had a night left before he would confess, and he realized he was going to need a lot of practice.

"I'm low birth and worse I'm a mercenary." He scowled at those words. "I'm filthy." She watched as he was about to say something, so she spoke first. "I could step right out of a bath in front of them and they will still say I'm filthy."

Dimitri's scowl deepened. He was sure if anyone saw her fresh out of a bath they would think differently. Seeing her with her wet hair clinging to her face and her cheeks still slightly pink from the hot bath, was a sight he always guilty sought. He quickly shook his head as his thoughts were entering dangerous territory. He thought about Jeralt's disapproving stare and the fear at what the father would do to him if Jeralt ever learned that the prince was having such inappropriate thoughts about his daughter; imagining such thoughts were always a quick way to turn away his unwanted guest.

"No on should speak to you like that!" Dimitri was finally able to say after he calmed down some. "You deserve respect!"

She smiled at him and his anger started to melt away. She walked over to him and he noticed that he was finally eye level with her, he tried to hide his giddiness at that fact. He stood perfectly straight when she stopped right in front of him, hoping that she would notice the fact as well.

"The only opinions I care about are yours, your family's, and our friends. I could care less what the rest of the world thinks of me." He felt his cheeks start to heat up. "But that being said it does get exhausting being constantly told I'm beneath someone."

His frown returned. He wanted to protest, to shout to the world and let everyone know of her greatness but he knew it would do so little. He might be powerless now but one day, he will be able to let all of Faerghus-no all of Fodlan- know just how incredible she was. For now, he would just settle for telling her how great she was…if he could successfully muster up the courage to express the words.

"By, I have a gift for you."

She tilted her head, briefly. "It's your birthday tomorrow. You are not supposed to be giving out gifts."

His cheeks warmed a little. "Consider it a late birthday gift." She titled her head. "C-can you please turn around and close your eyes?"

Nodding, she did as she was told. Taking a deep breath, he fished for the necklace out of his pocket and had a mini heart attack when he didn't grasp it right away. He ever so carefully he wrapped the necklace around her neck and clasped it. His heart was pounding like crazy in his chest when he told her to open her eyes.

Form behind he could see her inspecting it but not her expression. His hands were getting sweaty and his nerves were at their limit as he waited for her to turn around and face him. It felt like an eternity had passed when she finally did.

"It's beautiful," she said, and her eyes left his for a second to look at the necklace again.

"It-it remined me of your eyes!" he said a little to loudly. Her eyes flickered back to his and he swore his heart skipped a beat. "You," he paused to take step closer to the point where their faces were just inches apart, "you are always telling me that I have the most beautiful eyes." He paused again to take a deep breath. "But to me, your eyes are the most beautiful. I could stare into them for an eternity and never grow tired of them."

He watched as those eyes, he loved, widen slightly. She opened her mouth to speak but when no words came out, she closed it. A nice shade of red, colored her cheeks as she slightly nodded. He was sure that his heart would burst out of his chest at that moment because he finally got what he wanted; Byleth blushing for him and only him, and she looked absolutely breathing taking too.

Riding his high, Dimitri wished her a good night to which she could only nod to. Once outside of her room, his face erupted into a fiery color and he was finally able to release his held breath. His hands ran through his hair as excitement bubbled from within.

He did it! He was finally able to tell her something and get a proper reaction from her! Tomorrow, he was going to tell her that he loved her and that he would have no problems doing it, he was sure of it. Tomorrow could not come fast enough for him at that point of time.

**Twentieth of the Ethereal Moon:**

The big day had finally arrived, and Dimitri was just one big mess of energy. Byleth didn't arrive at his room first thing in the morning, like she normally did on his birthday. He had hopped that it was a sign that she was still a little shaken up from last night, that she was still very much aware of him.

He had wanted to see her before the ball but unfortunately, he would be far too busy to do so. Since he was unable to help, his friends had taken over the duties of helping her get ready. Ingrid was going to help Byleth get dressed and Sylvain was to escort Byleth to the ball, though he did constantly tease about how he wasn't able to bring a date because of it. As for Felix he was to be on standby in case something happened.

Dimitri was feeling confident. Everything was going to work out perfectly, he was sure of it. His birthday was going to be perfect.

Byleth wasn't feeling so confident as she huffed out her annoyance when she stared down her dress. She had tried to spend yesterday preparing but Dimitri went and ruined it-no ruined wasn't the right word, but she didn't know how else to express it. She didn't know what any of that really meant the night before or why she couldn't seem to get his confident face out of her mind or why his words still echoed in her head. So confused was she that she had missed her chance to be the first to wish him a happy birthday, which meant that King Lambert to claim victory that year.

Taking a deep breath her hand brushed over the dress as she tried to figure out, who would be the hardest person to approach that night. Dimitri? The various nobles that were sure to raise their noses in her presence? Or Glenn? A sharp pain stabbed at her heart at the thought of Glenn.

With a shake of her head, she chased away the thoughts and focused on just getting ready instead. She slipped into the dress and frowned at being unable to finish dressing herself, because of her inability to reach the strings on her back. What was the point of an outfit if you couldn't even dress yourself without the need of aid? Glancing at herself in her mirror she sighed and looked away.

Dimitri clearly wanted her at the party, but she couldn't help but wonder if her attending was the right thing. Despite receiving lessons fit for a prince and who she made friends with, she could not help but feel as of late that she didn't belong in their world, and all the glares and snide comments directed at her didn't help either. It would have been so much easier if she had been born a noble. She shook her head roughly; such thoughts would not help her, and they were cruel to her father.

A knock on her door, helped to break her out of her thoughts and she rushed over a little to eagerly to open it and she nearly tripped several times in the process. She opened the door to see that it was the queen consort and her handmaid, who held two boxes, standing on the other side. The consort smiled at her, as she awkwardly bowed in a way so that her chest would not fall out of the loose dress.

"I thought you might need some assistance," Lady Patricia said with a smile as she directed Byleth to stand. The young girl stared at awe at the queen. Ingrid had said she would come and help as soon as she could and Byleth couldn't help but feel that it was unfair to Ingrid for wanting the queen's help instead. Not because she thought think that Ingrid couldn't do it but because having the queen helping instead left a pleasant feeling blossoming in Byleth's chest, not that she would be able to articulate it in a way for others to understand.

"May I?" the queen consort asked and Byleth realized that she had yet to address the queen.

"Yes please!" Byleth nearly shouted and bowed so deeply that her chest nearly fell out.

Chuckling from the consort, caused the young girl to raise her head. The queen's light touch on her shoulder helped calmed down Byleth some as she was guided to turn around so that the older woman could tie the dress. With the dress finally secured, a weight was lifted from the mercenary's shoulders as well as different one was placed on those same shoulders; while she had always planned to go to the ball, having the dress now tied sealed her fate to it.

Lady Patricia guided Byleth to sit down in front of the vanity that King Lambert had insisted that she have. The older woman smiled down at her and complimented the young girl on her marvelous skin. A light blush warmed Byleth's cheeks at the complement from the older woman, who she believed deserved it so much more.

"May I do your make-up?" Byleth titled her head, she had never worn make-up before. "I promise I will do a good job."

"I know you will!" Byleth was quick to say and earned a more genuine smile for it. "I just can't help but think that it would be wasted on me."

"Nonsense, you look lovely even if you are not wearing make-up. I only wish to enhance your natural beauty." The young girl's face warmed and she agreed.

While the queen consort worked, she hummed a song, it wasn't one Byleth recognized but she liked it, so she tried to commit to memory. She felt weird just sitting there as another person touched her face and she found it hard to not squirm when brushes, came to close to touching her eyes for her comfort. The consort was so gentle that Byleth eventually found herself slowly relaxing and forgetting about her worries.

The queen managed to finish doing the teenager's make-up fairly quickly and Byleth swiftly spun around to see herself in the mirror. She didn't have any real expectations for make-up but when she looked back at her reflection and only saw minute changes, like the red of her lips and the light shade of green that decorated her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"What is wrong? Do you not like it?" the consort asked.

"No, I like it!" Byleth quickly said as she looked into the queen's eyes for a second before looking back at her reflection. "It's just…I thought I would look completely different."

Chuckling the queen bent down so that her face was leveled with Byleth's and they made eye contact through their reflections. "Those that look different with make-up are usually trying to hide something. But you, Byleth," she paused to claps the young girl's shoulders, "are a natural beauty and too much make-up would only ruin that. I only added what I did to enhance that natural charm of yours."

A blush worked up on Byleth's face, but a smile danced on her lips. The queen consort went back to humming as she now did the mercenary's hair. Byleth grabbed the golden clip that she had kept hidden away in a drawer of the vanity. Upon seeing the clip, the queen smiled softly and used it to keep up Byleth's hair into a small bun.

"You would look so lovely if you were to grow out your hair."

"My dad said long hair is dangerous because enemies can grab it." Lady Patricia said nothing but frowned. "But if I can learn how to put it up and keep it out of my face and away from enemies, maybe I can grow it out." Byleth turned to face the consort, forgetting that her hair was being worked on at the moment. "If I grow it out will you please teach me how to style it?"

The queen's eyes widen briefly before they softened. The smile she bore had been the softest and most sincere smile that Byleth had ever seen from her before. "Of course," the older woman said and directed for Byleth to sit back properly so that she could finish. The teen was at the mercy of the little smile that danced upon her lips.

When both make-up and hair was done, Byleth slipped on the necklace that Dimitri had given her. As she looked at her reflection she had wondered if Dimitri would like the way she looked and when she realized that she thought that a blush spread across her cheeks. From the mirror she caught the queen given her a knowing smile, which made the young girl to nervous to look at her.

She was finally finished, or so she thought. When she started to put on her boots, she was quickly stopped by the queen consort, who motioned for her handmaid to come forward, she revealed the contents of the second box, green sandals. Byleth tried to keep a neutral expression when she saw the small heel on them. Lady Patricia had assured her that she would be fine wearing them, but they seemed so impractical, and when she stood wearing them, she knew that she wouldn't be able to run if needed.

Now she was finally ready to go, even if she no longer felt so, thanks to the scandals. The queen consort smiled at her, but the smile faded when her eyes landed on the girl's crest. Feeling self-conscious, Byleth turned away.

"Your crest is certainly an interesting one," the consort said. Byleth said nothing and continued to look away. The queen consort placed a hand on Byleth's shoulders and made the young girl look at her with a gentle squeeze. She smiled down at Byleth with her practiced smiled and Byleth could see the sadness hidden behind the queen's eyes.

There was a knock at the door, breaking the ladies out of their little moment. Byleth moved to open the door but the handmaid had beat her to it. Her father had come to take her to the ball and upon laying eyes on her, his jaw dropped.

"Kid, you look beautiful," he said, and she smiled. "You are not going to the ball dressed liked that though."

"What?! Why not?" she asked and stomped her foot and realized she shouldn't do that again because she would surely fall next time.

"It should be fairly obvious as to why not."

"I'll just tell everyone that my crest is a tattoo!"

"Kid, that's- Well yes that is one reason but it's not the main reason."

"She is going," the queen consort interrupted in a tone that left not room for argument. Jeralt opened his mouth to object but the narrowing of her eyes silenced him. "Byleth is growing up. You cannot keep treating her like a child forever." Jeralt pressed his lips together and she smiled her practiced smile.

Goodbyes were exchanged as the queen consort and her handmaid left the father and daughter alone. Jeralt sighed and held out his arm for his daughter, which she happily slipped her arms around. Despite his complicated feelings, he knew that the queen was right but that didn't mean he was ready to let go yet; he still saw Byleth as his baby girl and he wasn't ready to see the young woman she was quickly becoming.

"You don't like the dress?" Byleth asked, once they were out of her room. He huffed out a "no" but said nothing else. "Why not? It is super expensive."

"It shows to much skin for my liking."

"Me too." He was happy to hear that she felt the same. "But it was the only dress that fit my chest." She glared down at it.

"Then stop growing it."

"How do I do that?" She looked up at her father with large, hopeful eyes and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Kid, if I knew that I would have made you done that years ago." Her pout caused him to laugh so more.

The two walked in a comfortable silence. She struggled to get used to wearing such scandals and was grateful that her father had lent his arm, when they first started. The sounds of light music could be heard in the little hallway that they walked down in and she could feel her nerves starting to get the better of her.

"Hey dad," she said to help calm herself down a little, and he hummed. "Guess how much this dress cost."

"How much?"

"100 gold."

"100 gold?!" he shouted, and she laughed a little. "Sheesh, how can nobles be so frivolous and stingy at the same time?"

He pushed open the large doors to the ball and she was finally able to see just how many people attended Dimitri's birthday, each year. And the nervousness that had been teasing her for the last two days, held her tight and she was unable to step forward. Her father looked back at her and she couldn't even bring herself to reach out to him. She looked passed him to look at all the people inside and she felt them judging her and she started having difficult breathing until Sylvain popped into her view.

"By, I was just about to go and get you," he said with a smile and that helped to calm her down. He held out an arm for her and she hesitantly wrapped her arms around it. His warmth grounded her, and she was finally able to release a shaky breath.

He was about to guide her in, when he noticed the father's stare and a shuddered ran down his spine. Struggling to maintain his smile, he tried to walk pass the older man with no problems. "I'll be supervising the ball," Jeralt whispered in a tone that only the two friends could hear. Nodding Sylvain rushed Byleth in and away from the very intimidating father.

* * *

The whole day had been incredibly stressful for Dimitri and all because he was being too impatient and yet struggled with how little time he had left. When he didn't see her in the morning, he took it as a good sign but as the day progressed that thought slowly morphed into a negative one. Was she avoiding him because she was conscious of him or because she didn't like the complement? He was besides himself but couldn't ask anyone to check on her for him as he was unable to see his friends thanks to his responsibilities.

He had spent much of the day greeting people. He had to maintain a smile as many of the girls he greeted had tried to flirt with him and it wasn't because he was already in love with Byleth but because he knew that they weren't interested in him but his title. Times like that made him realize just how special Byleth was because out of all the women he had ever met she should have been the one most interested in his position but she couldn't care less; in fact, she often forgot about it and would often have to be reminded about it from instructor.

When evening began to approach, he was then whisked away to get ready for the ball. Normally he found the time before the ball to be the most annoying as the maids needlessly fussed over him but that day he was to nervous to care, let alone be aware of them. He had spent so many nights rehearsing what he was going to say, and he feared he was starting to forget his carefully chosen words. And it was only when a maid started adjusting his coat for the ball that he realized that he never thought about how he was going to separate her from everyone. He wasn't ready and yet he had no more time.

He wishes for more time was ignored as his father had come to fetch him and he knew in a matter of just a few, short minutes the ball would be starting, and he would have to face her. His hands flexed and unflexed as they walked down the hallway as he couldn't fiddled with any of his clothes, less he might mess them up. Panic had started to settled in when he saw the ballroom door's come into sight.

"Dimitri are you alright?" his father asked, and the boy quickly looked up at him. "Your face is all red. Are you feeling unwell?"

Dimitri's hands flew to his face and sure enough he was warm to the touch. Nope, he couldn't have that tonight of all nights. He took several deep breaths until his heartbeat was steady and his face cooled softly. He could do this now…kind of…hopefully.

The king commented no more on his son's face, but his eyes remained on the boy. "Now remember, you may only have one dance with Byleth, do I make myself clear?" Dimitri frowned and said nothing. He was incredibly anxious about seeing her and yet not being able to see a lot her was frustrating. Those conflicting emotions were so vexing to the poor boy. "She is not allowed to be your first dance either."

"What? You never said that before!" Dimitri complained. First, he was apprehensive about see her in the first place and now he was beyond annoyed to not have her be his first dance of the night. His emotions were all over the place and he didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling anymore.

"You know very well that it was implied." He folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "The first dance of the ball is very important."

Then it should be with the person he most wanted to dance with, he wanted to argue with but kept his mouth shut. He dropped his hands to his side as the doors to the ball were being opened. Taking one final deep breath he wore his princely smile as he had done every time, he was to be the center of attention at some gathering.

All eyes flew to them and his eyes flew all around the room, discreetly, as he looked for her. His father and him walked towards the far back center of the room so that they could greet everyone. The music settled as his father began his speech, but the prince didn't listen as he still searched. Finally, he spotted some red hair that was moving through the crowed that eventually broke into the front alone with the steel, blue hair that he was desperate to see. His heart rate skyrocketed when he finally laid eyes on her and how beautiful she was.

He only became aware of his father's speech ending, when he saw everyone clapping. The music began to pick up lightly and it was time for him to choose his first partner of the night. It was a great struggle to keep a frown off of his face as he finally took in all the women there, all of them were staring at him expectantly.

His eyes landed on Byleth again and she gave him a small wave. He didn't care, he was going to dance with her first; his father and whatever other nobles could chew him out later. This was going to be first dance and he would be damned if he let someone steal another one of her first from him. Ignoring his father's quiet, but threatening call of his name he made his way over to her.

Smiling widely, he was finally able to truly appreciate her beauty now that he was standing in front of her. Her deep, green dress was lovely, and he liked the way it flowed around her and the view of her cleavage was indeed a nice sight but he quickly pushed past that view; such thoughts and excitement were not going to ruin this night for him. His chest did warm when he did see her wearing his necklace. And when he finally got to her face, he was surprised to see she was wearing make-up and the nice bright red of her lips made them look quite kissable.

He cleared his throat to chase away his thoughts, now wasn't a time them. Placing an arm behind him and the other over his chest he bowed deeply , he glanced at her and a goofy smile danced on his lips at the look of surprise on her face; he had never been so formal with her before and while he didn't want her being formal with him, he did like the idea of wooing her that way. Rising just a little he held out a hand towards her.

"May I have the first dance with you Miss Eisner?" he asked as princely as he could. He wanted to laugh as he watched her try to process the probably strange behavior to her. It was only then that both he and Sylvain had realized that neither of them had thought to teach her on the proper procedures on how to accept a dance. And the prince just made her the focus, she was surely going to be judged and it was all his fault.

As he started to sweat a little, the prince watched in awe as Byleth was able to for the first time ever perform a proper curtsey. "It would be a true honor to dance with you, Your Highness," Byleth said with a smile and his heart skipped a beat, despite her addressing him by his title leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Gently she placed her hand in his and he was quick to close his around hers.

With a bit too much energy he pulled her forward and she stumbled. "Don't drag me," she whispered, "I'm not used to these scandals."

"I am sorry!" He gently guided her, until they were in the center of the room.

Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands in their proper location and she did the same with practiced ease. The music slowly picked up as others began to join them. The prince and his love swayed gently to the music, staring into each other's eyes.

"You look beautiful," Dimitri said without even realizing it, but he was glad that he did it as she had blushed and a mumbled a small "thanks".

"Did I buy you those shoes?" He remembered only asking Ingrid to buy the dress but if she brought the scandals as well, he noted that he needed to thank her for thinking ahead.

"No, I think Lady Patricia did. Last week her handmaid had randomly asked me what my shoe size was." He nodded; he would have to thank his stepmother later. "Wait did you buy this dress?" He gave her a small nod. "I should have known. It was far too expensive; I want you to know."

"If it is for you then I do not care about the cost." Once again, she blushed and looked away. He didn't know where the confidence was coming from, but he liked it.

"I am sorry for not teaching you the proper procedures on how to accept the dance. May I ask how you knew what to do?"

"Yesterday, Canna came to my room to teach me." He made a mental note to thank Felix the next time he saw him.

He had tried to remain a gentleman, he truly did, but curiosity was getting the better of him and he glanced down at her chest so that he could finally see her crest. It was nothing like he imagined, and he had seen a drawing of it. She had described it like a wing to him, but he saw it like a small fire that would one day turn into a brilliant flame. The size was also incredible as he could tell that it still extended into parts that only his dreams had seen.

"Staring at my chest?" His face broke out into a brilliant red as he tried to maintain an air of calm, less he grabbed more unwanted attention.

"No, I was just staring at your crest." The stare he was giving, was not helping to settle his heartbeat. "Is it really alright to be showing it off?" he asked in hopes of convincing her that what he said was true.

She briefly looked passed him, towards her father that had been standing in the back. "It's fine. I will not let my crest hold me back." He smiled at her and was amazed at just how confident she was; he hoped to one day posses just an ounce of the confidence she oozed.

With a grace he didn't know he possessed, he glided her across the floor. He forgot all others as he stared into the beautiful, blue eyes that he loved. The world could have ended then and he would have been content; the music ending was something he did not appreciate, though.

They had to part, despite how much he wanted to continue dancing with her. He had already upset his father, and who knew how many other nobles, it would do him well to not upset them further. But following in Byleth's example from last month and committing some early teen rebellion was a tempting idea. Reluctantly he let her go so that they could bow and part.

Disappointedly he walked away in search for another dance partner. Glancing back at her, he noticed a young man walking towards her and that wasn't okay. Felix or Sylvain were the only dance partners he would approve of. He couldn't risk her falling for someone else, at least not until he had a chance to confess. But short of storming over there and whisking her away, there was little he could do. Felix had managed to swoop in at the last minute and sweep here away and Dimitri released a sigh while a new small fear bubbled within him.

Felix had stepped in right before someone else could ask her and Sylvain had done the same in with the next dance. Byleth would admit she wanted to do dance with them more than the strangers, but she couldn't help but think that they were being rude. And when her third potential dance partner was interrupted, she decided that it was time for a break.

She tucked herself away in the back so she wouldn't be noticed but she knew that was all but impossible. She was an outsider, the woman that the prince chose to dance with first, and both a Fraldarius son, and Gautier heir had been seemingly fighting for her attention, so she was naturally going to the be the talk of the ball. And if people didn't know that she was Dimitri's "mistress" it wouldn't take long before that rumor spread to everyone in that room.

She smiled at two noble women, who passed by, and they shot her disapproving glares. Taking a deep breath, she realized that it was going to be a long night. Dancing with Dimitri might have made her feel like a princess, but the world was quick to remind her of her place. She looked at the dancefloor and saw all her male friends dancing and she couldn't help but be jealous. No one was questioning why they were there or why they were given such "special treatment".

"By!" She heard a very familiar voice call her name. She looked up to see both Ingrid and Glenn heading towards her. At the sight of Glenn, she felt the sharp pain in her chest, so she chose to focus on Ingrid instead. "I am sorry that I was unable to help you get ready, but the queen consort said she would."

Byleth smiled at Ingrid and gave her a small nod. "Judging by how beautiful you look it seem like it was the right choice to leave it to her majesty. I do not know the first thing about make-up."

Byleth watched as Ingrid wrapped her arms around one of Glenn's and a bitter taste invaded her mouth. "Does she not look beautiful sir Glenn?" The teen's eyes flew to Glenn, who looked away. The bubbling hope that sparked in her quickly dissipated but she at least managed to keep her expression neutral.

"…Yes…," he mumbled so quietly that she could barely hear it.

Byleth's eyes slowly drifted to the couples interlocked arms. She was vaguely aware of Ingrid scolding Glenn on his response. She wished she could just drift away; she would gladly face all the nobles' judgement than be there at that moment.

"You two seem close," she finally asked the question that had been tormenting her. Her eyes flickered to look at them as a whole instead of just their arms.

"Of course, we are engaged," Ingrid happily commented as she hugged Glenn's arms tighter.

Byleth's mouth went dry as she stared at them with her mouth agape. Finally, she was able to close her mouth and tried to swallow away the large lump that formed in her throat, but it wasn't possible. She opened her mouth a few times to speak but she didn't know what to ask or even if she wanted to know the answers to the questions.

"F-for how long?" She finally asked and she wasn't sure why she asked.

Ingrid tilted her head, copying Byleth's confused gesture. "For a few years now. Did no one not tell you?"

"You did not know?!" Glenn finally spoke and his tone was horrified as he stared at her.

She glanced at both of them before looking at the floor. "No…," her voice was barely a whisper, "no one told me."

"Byleth-" Glenn started but she had enough.

"Forgive me but I'm going to get some fresh air." She did not wait for their responses as she left as quickly as she could. She wanted to leave the ball all together but wasn't sure if she could without making a scene, so she slipped into one of the open terraces, extremely grateful that no one else was there. The cold, winter night of Faerghus hit her hard and that was perfect as it distracted her from the agonizing pain in her chest.

Dimitri did his duty, he danced with several different women. Who they were, he couldn't tell you as he was only vaguely aware of their presence. His eyes would scan for Byleth with ever little chance he got, and he was always relieved to see her dancing with either Sylvain or Felix. That was until she wasn't with either of them.

When he finally caught sight of her slipping away, he knew that it was the perfect opportunity to be alone with her. He couldn't excuse himself fast enough after the song ended. When he finally got to the terrace and saw her slouched forward the smile left his face as he slowly made his way over to her.

"By?" he called softly, and she only turned slightly to address him, and he was able to see that her eyes were misty. He stood next to her and noticed that she was twirling her necklace between her fingers. "Is something wrong?"

She looked away from him and stared at the freshly fallen snow. "Daisy and Glenn are engaged," she finally answered after a few moments of silence, and he stiffened. "No one told me." He didn't know what to say and could only stare at her, while she stared at nothing. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I am sorry." She finally glanced at him. "I thought if you knew it would hurt you, so I asked for Felix and Sylvain to remain quiet."

She went back to looking forward. "It hurt more not knowing."

"I am sorry! I should have told you that Glenn was already engaged."

"Finding out that Glenn was already engaged does hurt but…" She rested her head on the froze terrace's railing as she looked at him. "It hurt more not knowing. It was just another reminder that I don't belong in your world."

"No!" he shouted startling both of them and she stood straight with one hand resting on the railing. He placed one hand over hers as he closed the little distance between them. "You belong By!" He squeezed her hand as he got a little closer. "You deserve to be by my side." His cheeks warmed a little as he looked into her eyes. "No one deserves that more than you."

"You are wonderful, so very kind, strong, and incredibly." He took a deep breath. "Honestly I could keep going on as to why you are amazing. Do not listen to anyone because they are just jealous."

Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open, but no sounds came from her. Working up the courage he closed the distance even more to the point that her noses were almost touching. "You are the only one I want-"

"Oh my," a sudden, unfamiliar voice interrupted them, and Dimitri froze, just a mere inch from Byleth's lips.

"What is wrong my darling?" Sylvain voice soon filled the little terrace. "Oh. Oh no…"

Gritting his teeth, Dimitri hid his face behind Byleth's, who had turned to greet the intruders, much to Sylvain's distress. The older boy was quick to rush his new, lady friend away but it was too late; the moment was lost. Sylvain tried to slip away but when the prince said his name menacingly, the Gautier heir froze in his tracks. With as much calm as he could muster, Dimitri asked if Byleth could excuse them, much to Sylvain's horror and his pleas went unanswered as she passed him.

"Sylvain," Dimitri growled out his friend's name.

"My deepest apologies!" Sylvain was quick to say. "I did not know that you were using this terrace!"

"I had the perfect moment! I was comforting her! I was just about to confess and kiss her! Everything was perfect!"

As Dimitri voiced his rage, he was stepping closer and closer to the defenseless teen. Sylvain through his hands out before him in a weak shield, even though they both new that the prince wasn't going to hurt anyone. Dimitri grabbed Sylvain's collar and shook him harder than he meant too, demanding to have his perfect moment back.

"Hey! The night is still young we will find you another one," Sylvain managed to say through all the shaking. He was then put on duty on finding another ideal moment. He was also banned from dancing with any other women that were not Byleth, including Ingrid.

Byleth left the terrace with her body feeling hot and her pulse flying on high. Her mind was racing as she tried to put everything together. She couldn't tell if she was relieved for the interruption or disappointed in it. But why was she disappointed? What did she want to happen? All her chaotic thoughts had hear nearly forgetting where she was.

"Byleth," she flinched when Glenn had called out to her. The warmth she had just been feeling vanished quickly and she was reluctant to turn around and face him, but she did. She discovered that he was alone and held out a hand towards her "May I have a dance with you?"

She looked at the hand before slowly looking up at him. "What about keeping a distance?" She wanted to ask but choose to say nothing. When he offered her a heartfelt plea, she gave in and placed a hand in his and allowed him to guide her to the dancefloor.

They started their dance in silence and Byleth refused to look him in the eye, so she stared at his chin, instead. She missed the warmth that Dimitri had given her, instead of the cold sorrow that Glenn now brought her. He spun her when the dance called for it and when she returned to his arms, he pulled her in close.

"Byleth, did you really not know about Ingrid and I?" She stiffened and he was practically hugging her at that point as they slightly swayed to the beat. "I am truly sorry. I did not know. I-My words must have been so confusing and painful." She said nothing as she tried to create some space between them. He had fought at first but eventually relented to her request and they returned to proper dance distance.

She looked into his eyes and finally saw his sorrow and regret so clear in them. She didn't know what to say or if she even wanted to say anything. The pain in her chest was still there, even if she agreed that it wasn't his fault but still…She looked away, life was easier when she had no emotions.

"Glenn," she said softly, and he squeezed her hands. "W-would you like to join me for my training with my dad?"

"Can I?" She looked up and him and the sheer gratefulness he was showing her, made it impossible for her to take back her words; not that she had any intentions of doing so.

"Yes." He smiled down at her and was about to rest his head against hers but stopped just short of doing so. He took a deep breath and the pain still lingered in his eyes. She didn't like feeling that way, but she was at least comforted in knowing that he was in pain as well.

"I still want to be your friend." He squeezed her hand.

"Me too," his voice was barely a whisper. "Thank you."

The rest of their dance went smoothly as both of their pain began to slowly fade away.

* * *

Most of the adults that decided to attend the ball stood off to the back watching the children. Rodrigue sat with King Lambert and his wife, while Jeralt stood behind them as a guard, a very annoyed guard. It was taking everything in Rodrigues's power to not sigh or groan at the king's antics.

"My daughter is so beautiful!" King Lambert said and ignored the threateningly cleared throat form her actual father. "But I do not approve of that dress. It draws far too much unwanted attention." Jeralt nodded in agreement.

"You do realize your son is very much apart of that attention," Rodrigue said. The king glanced at over his shoulder and saw the disapproving stare being directed at him.

"And what about your sons, hm?" King Lambert was quick to retort, just to get the glare off of him. "How many times has Felix danced with her? And what about Glenn? He danced unnecessarily closed with her, hmm." The glare shifted to the duke, who was struggling to maintain a calm composure under it.

"Will you not just hurry up and go dance with her?" the duke said, just to change the subject and hopefully end the glaring. "You clearly want to dance with her."

"I want too." The king dramatically pouted, forgetting his title for a moment. "But I should not show favoritism…but she is so lovely."

"Just dance with her," the queen consort said with a smile watching as Sylvain glided Byleth across the dance floor. She had heard the rumors about that boy's frivolous nature, but she had decided that he was the best fit for Byleth as her dance partner, as he was the only one to truly match her pace. "Everyone should already be aware of who she is by now and the favoritism that the royal family has given her."

There was a bit of silence between the group as the king debated on whether or not his actions would really change everyone's opinion of Byleth anymore. It should have been cleared to everyone by now that she was fancied as the kingdom's most eligible children kept dancing with her. It also didn't help that prince Dimitri chose her to dance with first; King Lambert was surely going to hear it later from many different nobles because of that but seeing his son's and Byleth's smiling faces when they danced was worth it.

Silently, Jeralt walked over to the king, who was completely unaware. He leaned over so he could be in the younger man's line of sight. "Is my daughter being bullied?" Jeralt finally asked and the king practically jumped out of his seat.

"I am going to dance with her!" And with that the king managed to escape the angry father temporarily.

It was the perfect opportunity as Byleth was all alone, after all her "suitors" had been preoccupied with another dance partner. King Lambert glanced at Dimitri and noticed his son was panicking a little and he chuckled quietly to himself. He may not know what his son had planned for that day or even if he should support it, but he decided that he would at least help his son out, it was his birthday after all.

He walked over to Byleth and bowed to her. The whispers from everyone fell on deaf ears, when she smiled at him and gave her his hand. Her hands were nothing like his queen's or any other noble women's he held, hers were rough and strong. While most of the women, he has had the pleasure of holding their hands with, kept their grips weak to portray an air of daintiness but not her, her grip was powerful just like a seasoned warrior. He was incredibly proud of her. She had a hard life and stared down death several times at such a young age, but she didn't let that hold her back. He was excited to see just what kind of woman she would one day become.

The dance ended too soon, and he had to reluctantly let her go and he was happy to see that she felt the same. He was expecting to see either Sylvain or Felix come rushing to steal her next dance but neither of the boys were to be found, but Rodrigue had stepped in, al bit hesitantly, and the king gave his friend a sad smile when he noticed Byleth stiffen in the duke's presence.

Rodrigue had informed him of the broken trust that the duke had earned with Byleth. His friend had expressed his regret at failing to comfort her last year and that he did know how to make it up to her. The king gave his friend a hardy slap on the back and pushed the reluctant man forward, while he excused himself. He knew that those two needed to be alone.

The two stood in an awkward silence for a bit before the duke finally asked her to a dance and she hesitantly accepted. They danced in silence with neither one of them able to look into the eyes of the other. Halfway through the song, a sigh finally escaped him, and she frowned.

"Byleth," Rodrigue said and she looked up at him. "It is far overdue but please allow me to express my most heartfelt apology." She tilted her head. "Last year you came to me seeking comfort and I ignored you and focused on issues, that were not important at the moment."

She pressed her lips together briefly before speaking, "I forgive you."

"No." He squeezed her hand slightly. "Byleth, I do not want you to forgive me because it will make me happy. I want you to forgive me because you truly do." At a loss for words, she could only stare at him. "You are a sweet child, who puts everyone before yourself, but I want you to consider yourself more."

"It is okay to tell someone no. It is okay to not forgive someone if they have not earned it." He paused to look her in the eye. "Byleth, it is okay to do what you want."

Her eyes widen and she looked at his chest, absorbing everything he said. When the song ended, she nodded and looked up at him before they parted. "I will thank you, Lord Rodrigue." He smiled down at her.

* * *

Dimitri collapsed face first onto his bed and groaned loudly into his pillow. No other moments came for his confession. He was unable to tell her how he felt, despite planning this night for nearly six months. Another groaned escaped him as he tried to bury his face further into his pillow.

There was a knock at his door, and he grumbled an unintelligible complaint and made no effort to move. Another knock and another complaint with still no effort to move. When he heard Byleth call from him on the other side of the door, he fell out of his bed as he scrambled to open it.

All his negative emotions washed away as excitement, of seeing her, took over. He was happy to see her standing there smiling but was a bit disappointment to see that she had changed and washed her face. He hurriedly let her in before someone could spot them and let them know such a thing was improper at that hour. As she walked in, he spied the present that she had hidden behind her back.

"Happy birthday!" she shouted as she spun around to face him. A large smile danced upon his flushed face. "I try to be the first to wish you a happy birthday but given how hectic this day ways, I decided that I will be the last to wish you it." Some how his cheeks warmed even more.

"I know you said I didn't need to make you anything this year, but I already made you something before you said that so…" She thrusted her gift to him and he happily took it. "Happy birthday Aster!"

He sat on his bed, while she stood in front of him as she watched him carefully unwrapped his present. It was a leather bracelet with the crest of Blaiddyd etched into it with other little designs like swords and lances. He could feel a strange but comforting power emanating from it. He looked at her and she was smiling.

"Thank you," he said softly as he ran his finger over the crest.

"A priest helped me infuse some of my magic into it." She had told him before that she was going to churches to learn Faith magic, but it was still a hard thing to imagine as he still felt the need to protect her from the church. "So, when I'm not around to protect you, hopefully this bracelet can. This way I can take in some comfort in knowing that you are safe, when I'm gone."

While she had spoke he had been smiling down at the bracelet, but it soon turned to a frown. "And how am I supposed to take comfort when I do not know if you are safe or not?" She had furrowed her eyebrows and rested her head on one her hands. "I want to know that you are safe at all times! But I can only do that if you are always by my side."

"By, will you not finally stay?" She gave him a sad smile before shaking her head.

"I can't become your knight yet. I am not strong enough to protect myself, let alone you as well."

"I will protect you!"

"But it's a knight's job to protect their liege, not the other way around."

"I do not care! I do not want a knight that just protects me. I do not want to be so helpless that I need other to protect me. I want to be a prince that will protect others! And I will protect you!"

She smiled at him and squeezed his hands. She rested her head against his and his blush colored his cheeks. Silently, they stared into each other eyes for a second.

"I want to protect you too." He pouted as he got a feeling as to where she was going. "But I need to get stronger first." He opened his mouth to protest but she pulled one of her hands free so that she could place a finger on his lips and silenced him as well as make his face explode in red. "How about this? When I turn eighteen, I will become your knight."

He broke out of the trance to complain, "but that is too far away."

"It is less than three years away."

"That is still a long time."

"Is it? Five years had already passed since I've met you and felt like it was just yesterday too." He pouted and she poked his cheek. "The time will pass before you know it."

"Do you promise?" He looked into her eyes and his pout remained.

"Yes."

He grabbed her hands and gave them a little squeeze. He stared at them for a bit. He was finally eye level with her, and the size of their hands were the same, but their strength wasn't. Sure, his crest had given him absurd, physical strength, but strength was pointless without the skills to properly wield it. Byleth was the only one truly powerful between the two. He still had a long way to go.

"Aster?" she called, and he glanced up at her. "Is something wrong?"

Closing his eyes, he lowered his head again. Just a few hours ago he was going to confess to her after comforting her, but did she really need him? She was so strong and confident. After everything she has been through, she had pushed forward, and he wasn't sure if he could do the same if he had been in her situation. Surely, words from someone like him could be nothing to her. Did he even earn the right to confess to her?

She pulled her hands free to cup his face and tilted he heads up towards him and he was forced to look at her. "What is wrong?"

"I…I just realized I have done so little. You are so incredible but what have I done for you?" He couldn't maintain eye contact anymore so he looked out from the corner of his eyes as he was unable to bring himself to break free of her grip.

"You have done so much for me I fear I will never be able to properly repay you." His eyes snapped back to hers and the soft smile she was supporting, warmed him. "I can only laugh, smile, and feel so many things because of you. You saved me from myself a few years ago after I fell into a despair from having to kill someone. You've given me so much comfort." As she spoke the warmth in his chest erupted into a comforting fire. "And just a few hours ago, you helped me. Thank you for that."

He gripped her hands and pulled them away from his face so that he could pull her towards him. Once again, their foreheads rested against each other. Her scent of jasmine invaded him and comforted him because of her it became his favorite scent and he had asked for the palace gardens to be filled with that flower.

"By, I have something I want to tell you." She said nothing and gave him a nod to continue. "I lo-"

A knock on his door silenced him and he could feel one of his eyes twitching. If it was Sylvain again, the House of Gautier was going to be in need of a new heir. Byleth tied to move to go open the door but Dimitri didn't let her go; not that it mattered anyway as yet again another moment was lost.

Despite his wishes the door was opened by his father, who looked at the promiscuous situation with a disproving scowl. He quickly made his way over to them and stopped, when Byleth managed to pull one of her hands free to point at the king. His scowl remained but he arched an eyebrow at her.

"You got to tell him 'happy birthday' first, I get to tell him last!" Byleth declared. The king stared at her for a few seconds before laughing.

"Oh, and how will you stop me?" the king asked with an amused smile. He had forgotten his earlier problem.

Byleth wrapped an arm around Dimitri's head and shoved him against her breast. His face was bright red and his eyes were so wide that one might have feared them popping out of their sockets. She, for all her innocents, didn't seem to notice the problem as she proudly declared, "I'll just cover his ears!"

The smile left King Lambert's face as he walked over to the children. Much to Dimitri's relief and great disappointment, his father had separated the two children. The king shook his head at Byleth's pout.

"By, no funny business," King Lambert said sternly.

"Why not?" He cocked his head to the side as he had no response to that. "Isn't funny business a good thing? Because funny is good, right? So, shouldn't we do funny business?" She glanced at Dimitri, who was too embarrassed to look at her.

King Lambert placed his hands on Byleth's shoulders. "I must commend Jeralt for managing to maintain your innocence." She tilted her head. "But I wonder has he had the 'talk' with you yet?" She tilted her head even more. He folded his arms and tilted his head as well. "Should I have one of the maids explain where babies come from," he mumbled.

"I know where babies come from." He arched an eyebrow. "It's because of se-"

"No!" the king shouted and covered his ears. "I do not wish to hear such vile words escape my precious daughter's lips!"

She glanced at Dimitri, who buried his face into his hand and shook his head. Coughing lightly into his hands the king composed himself. He then proceeded to guide her to the door. She protested a little but relented once she was at the door.

"You can't wish him a happy birthday!" He chuckled. "I get to be the last, okay?" Patting her head, he assured her that he wouldn't.

Once Byleth was gone, the king walked back to his son, who had yet to move from his position. He smiled as he noticed his son was trying to get a handle on his emotions. He couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for his son for having such a clueless friend to the poor boy's hormonal problems.

He eyes landed on the bracelet and he smiled when he recognized the familiar craftsmanship. Upon picking up it up, his eyes widen at how much power he felt coming form it. He looked at his son, who was calming down from his embarrassment. Taking one of the boy's hands, he slipped the bracelet onto it.

"Dimitri, you must keep this bracelet on you at all cost, do you hear me?" The prince looked at his father and nodded but didn't really understand the need for such a serious tone. King Lambert looked at the bracelet as he spoke, "I have a shield blessed by the archbishop, but it does not possess nearly the power that this bracelet possesses."

"By, said she had infused it with some of her magic," Dimitri said as he twirled the arm that the bracelet was on. It had been a tad to large and if he wasn't careful it could easily slip off. He didn't know if Byleth had gotten he size wrong, or if she had purposely made it to large, so that he could grow into it.

The king narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at the bracelet. He wasn't surprised to learn that the power had come from Byleth but was amazed at just how much power she must possess. He was sure that she would achieve greatness and he smiled at that thought. Glancing at his son, he saw how Dimitri was looking fondly at his gift. Maybe it was okay to let the love foster. Byleth would surely make a name for herself and no one would be able to object to them.

"I have no doubts that this bracelet will protect you. Make sure you keep it safe."

**Last day of the Guardian Moon 1176:**

Despite Sylvain's best attempts to assure Dimitri that another moment would appear, it did not. It might have been petty of him, but Dimitri did inform Ingrid that Sylvain had ruined everything and he took in some pleasure watching as Ingrid berated Sylvain for it. The pleasure always ended when Byleth had tired to intervene and put a stop to the fighting, she had no idea what was about.

Both the Ethereal Moon and Guardian Moon had passed and yet he had been unable to convey his feelings. It was starting to eat him alive; he couldn't wait for the next visit. In a few short hours the Jeralt mercenaries would be leaving and he couldn't have that at least not yet; so, he had snuck into her room in the middle of the night. It might have not been the ideal moment that he wanted but it would have to do.

Quietly as possible, he made his way over to her bed. His candle provided just enough light to barely make out her sleeping figure. Finally, at the head of her bed he was about to reach out to her but instead a flurry of moments froze and blinded him and suddenly he felt a sharp, cold steel pressed against his neck.

In the dim light he was able to make out her eyes fiercely glaring at him, before recognition slowly dawned in them. The dagger slipped from her fingers and clang loudly against floor, disrupting the quiet night. She was quick to whisper an apology and her had flew to his neck and he could feel the comforting warmth of healing magic.

"I am so sorry Aster!" she whispered. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

It took a moment to find his voice. "It is alright." He grabbed her hand, stopping her magic. "I am the one at fault for startling you." He could barely make out her frown and he offered her a smile, despite the chaotic pounding of his heart.

"What brings you here at this hour?"

"I needed to speak to you about something. If that is alright?" She tilted her head but made room for him to sit on her bed. "I know the hour is improper but during the day I will have no time to tell you as you get ready to leave. And I really need to tell you this."

"What is it?"

Placing the candle on the nightstand, next to her bed, he sat on the bed. He fiddled with the blankets as the words suddenly got lodged int his throat. The words had come so naturally to him before and now that he would be able to say them, they were no where to be found.

Groaning he buried his face into his hands. He already came all this way, disturbed her, so why couldn't the words just come to him? She pulled his hands free so that she could look at him and his face warmed.

"What has been troubling you as of late?" He hung his head and a little cry escaped him. "Have I upset you?"

His head shot up like a wyvern taking flight. "What? No! That could not be further from the truth!"

"Then what is it?"

He pressed his lips together as his face turned bright red. His mind was completely blank. Another little, strangled cry escaped him as he collapsed back onto the bed. His mind couldn't even think of words to berate himself with.

Leaning over him, he could barely make out her features with the blocked, dim light. It didn't matter if he could see any specifics as he had long since memorized her features and was sure he knew what expression she was currently making. Her fingers combed through his hair and he stiffened briefly before another groan escaped him. How could she be so clueless as to what her actions do to him?

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what is wrong?" Her sweet, caring actions were not helping him in the slightest.

He sat up and looked at her for a few seconds, but the words still wouldn't escape him. Groaning yet again he leaned his head against her shoulder. He couldn't comprehend as to why it was so hard to get the words out.

Dimitri leaned back so he could look at her. If he couldn't say the words he wanted, then maybe if he worked up a conversation with her that would help to get his mind to work and finally find the words he needed. But that idea caused another problem as he had no idea what to talk about.

He broke eye contact to look at her, mostly shadowed face. His sights settled on her lips and he remembered how red they were at the ball. The normally muted shade of pink of her lips were nice, but something about the red made him really want to kiss her then; not that he didn't always want to kiss her.

"Can I kiss you?" He finally spoke and that was the one thing he asked out of all things? Internally he berated himself and how shameful he was.

"Okay." All his thoughts ceased as he stared at her. She nodded and that was the little push he needed, and he closed the distance between them. The kiss was small and chastise but it caused his heartrate to soar.

He pulled back to look at her and now he wished for better lighting. He was desperate to know what expression she was making at that moment and to know if she liked or not. One of his hands found one of hers and he gripped it as he went in for another kiss.

He stopped short of kissing her a second time, when his pesky negative thoughts broke through the haze that clouded his mind. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. "Would…Would you let anyone kiss you if they asked to?"

She tilted her head and rested it on her free hand, and he did not like that. He didn't want her to have to think about it. "Would you let Sylvain kiss you if he asked?" She was still silent and hated the sickening feeling that was growing in the pit of his stomach.

"No," she finally said and just like that the vile feeling gave away to a warmth that spread throughout his entire body. "Only you, because I trust you."

He closed the distance again to kiss her, another chastise one. One kiss, became two, and then three; and even though they brought him immense joy, he couldn't help but desire more. Sylvain had told him of an open mouth kiss that were more intense than the little ones they were doing but he didn't know how to go about inciting one. Asking Byleth to open her mouth didn't really sound that romantic.

"Is something wrong?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Am I doing it wrong? I've never kissed someone before." He was happy to know that he stole another one of her first.

"No, I never kissed anyone before either, so I am not sure what I am doing either." He gave her hand a light squeeze.

"C-could you please open your mouth?" Yup, that was certainly not a romantic thing to ask. She did as she was asked and opened wide and it didn't seem right. How was one supposed to kiss with mouths wide opened? It seemed gross to him.

After a few seconds of the prince doing nothing she slowly closed her mouth. "Was that, not right?"

"I do not know." He shook his head and decided to just give up on that weird kiss for now. "Kissing you was not why I disturbed you. Not that I was not greatly enjoying it or anything." He looked at her and maneuvered her so that he could actually see her face. "I have something very important to tell you."

She was quiet as she watched him, and her stare wasn't bothering him as much as before. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and then opened them upon the exhale. She gave him a small smile and he returned it with his own and a squeeze of her hand.

"By, I…," he paused to take another deep breath, "I love you."

Her mouth hung open as she stared at him wide eyed. He tried to keep his composure but after a few seconds of silence he started to fidget. A few more seconds later and he was about ready to shout at her to say something, anything!

"Aster I…," she finally said as if she heard his silent plea. "I don't know…"

By the way she was fidgeting around and was unable to look at him, did he figure out she was going down a direction he didn't like. He had been so focused on confessing to her that he never once considered the idea that she might possibly reject him. It was only then that he realized how foolish he was and why Sylvain had tried to talk him out of it several times. He only just recently got her to be aware of him, so of course she wasn't in love with him.

"Aster I…" He wanted her to stop speaking, he was already painfully aware of his foolishness, he didn't need to hear anymore from her. She took a deep breath and looked at him and he just wanted to beg her to stop. "I'm emotionally stunted. I don't know what love is…" Her voice started to tremble a little. "I don't even know if I'm capable of falling in love…You are better off loving someone who can return such emotions."

By the time she finished speaking she could no longer look at him and clenched her fists tightly in front of her. Silent, he stared at her as that wasn't something he was expecting to hear. He had got to see several different sides of her this year and seeing her vulnerabile was the greatest surprise of them all. He started to wonder if she had always been this vulnerable and he just never noticed. She was always so strong, sometimes unnaturally so but now she seemed more human; he liked it.

She started to ramble about how he deserved better and other nonsense he wasn't interested in hearing. He grabbed her hands and slowly they unclenched so that he could properly hold them. He waited a bit for her to relax and he offered a smile.

"By, you are not emotionally stunted." She frowned so he gave her hands a small squeeze. "Sure, at first you had a hard time expressing yourself but now, now I see you smiling all the time, I have even seen you sad," he paused to give her hand another squeeze in hopes of conveying his desires to never see her sad again. "And this year I got to see you angry. So, you see, you are not emotionally stunted, and you never were as your eyes always revealed your feelings."

"But...But I can't cry."

"So? That does not mean you do not feel such sorrow though." Her eyes widen as she went silent. "And as for love, you love your father, do you not?"

She glanced down at their hands for a bit before nodding. Looking back at him, she gave his hands her own squeeze. "I do love him." He smiled, when she did.

"Though it is not the love, I desire it is still love and as such you can fall in love." She looked at him as he pulled back his hands. "I just have to work harder to be a man that you will fall for!"

She smiled at him. "I look forward to it."

"I just have one small request though. Do not fall in love with anyone else before then, alright?"

Morning came and Dimitri was able to bid her a farewell as he normally did. But once she was gone, he finally gave into his depression and spent the rest of the day sulking. To everyone, it was just his usual depression of having to part with her.

* * *

Well there you have it. I gave you the fluff I promised! Are you not satisfied?! Hopefully this chapter will be able to hold you guys off for a bit as I do have to take a small break because it's finals time and I have two papers to write…ugh.

If any of you lovely artist wants to draw papa Jeralt having to explain the birds and the bees to a young female Byleth I would be most grateful. I missed my chance to add such a scene to my story.

Small AU note:

It was all of the mercenaries that branded together to help protect Byleth's innocents. Any inappropriate talk in front of her usually resulted a punch in the face. At first they had tried to avoid swearing as well because Jeralt didn't want her to learn such words but he often forgot himself so that issue had been quickly dropped.


	10. Chapter 10

Finals are over! It's time to upload!

Byleth: 15

Dimitri: 12

* * *

**Lone Moon 1176:**

**First of the Lone Moon:**

Byleth awoke in her tent to the loud cry of a creature of some sorts. Gripping her dagger tightly, her eyes darted around her tent, but nothing seemed a miss; her father was still asleep next to her and she couldn't hear any hustling coming from outside her tent. She sat upright a minute, wondering if it had been a dreamed, but besides the occasional dream of a girl sleeping on her throne, she didn't have any dreams. After her heart had settled, she attempted to drift back to sleep, only to hear the same cry again but that time it sounded to be in pain.

She shot upright again and once again the world was stilled. She could hear her pulse rushing in her ears as she once again looked around her tent. Something was wrong and she didn't know what and it left in an incredibly uneasy state. Slowly she crawled over to her father and when she saw his chest rising, relief washed over her, he was fine at least. Poking her head out of her tent she saw Muharib at one end of the campsite as well as another mercenary at the other end, and neither of them seemed to be on alert. She sat back down on her bedroll as she tried to make sense of things. Was she just imagining things? But she never had a sense of imagination, despite Dimitri's best efforts.

Once again, she heard the cry but realized that she wasn't actually hearing it in the normal sense. It was more like she was feeling it from deep within and she felt a sharp pain in her chest for it. She had never been one to turn down a cry for help before, but she had this overwhelming desire to help, whoever it was. It was baffling to her as she had never felt such a strong desire before; it was almost like it wasn't her desire. The sleeping girl in her dreams popped into her mind and she wondered if the girl was the one seeking help.

Pulling her dagger out, from under her pillow she attached it to her belt and then her sword. She was ready to march but didn't know if she should go or not. Glancing at her sleeping father she debated on whether or not to awake him. She had explained to her father the dreams of the girl and he never seemed to know what to make of them. She didn't know how she was going to explain everything she was feeling to him and if he would even believe her.

Deciding that she would at least locate the girl first before deciding to wake her father, she quietly slipped out of her tent. Muharib had been her next point of conflict, should she tell him? He had seemed a bit more receptive to her dreams, but his theories had been too confusing for Byleth to follow. Ultimately, she decided against telling him anything as he needed to remain on guard, but she should at least tell him she was leaving.

Just as she was about to approach him, she felt the cry again. The urgency she felt had her forgetting all about letting Muharib know. As fast as she could she dashed towards the lake, where she was sure the cry was coming from.

Just shy of reaching the lake did it finally dawn on her how foolish her actions were. While it had been over a year since she was last attacked that didn't mean she wasn't a target anymore and she just made herself vulnerable. When she was about to turn around and head back, the sounds of battle could be heard, and curiosity compelled her to look.

Her blood ran cold as soon as she saw people wearing strange robes and masks. Instinctively she took a step back and only became aware of their target, a gigantic lizard creature that she would later describe as a turtle, roared out. Despite everything she had done last year to overcome her fear, it was still there, and it was suffocating. She had turned to run away but only managed to get a few steps away when the creature roared out and she felt it reverberate throughout her body. It felt like something was gripping her heart and she looked back at the creature.

She kept glancing back at the ensuing battle and back to where her mercenary camp was. She should awake her father; she will be safer that way and yet…will that creature survive long enough for her to return? Will her father even be willing to take the risk?

Gritting her teeth, she gave into the pain in her chest and rushed to the edge of the forest. She burst from the thickets and no one had taken noticed of her yet. She could try and sneak up on someone but from all the people around surely someone would notice her. Swearing loudly she gave in and would fight and she casted a small and weak fireball and launched it at the nearest enemy.

She instantly regretted casting the spell as she could tell it wasn't going to do anything. Reason and Faith magic were truly different and trying to use her knowledge of Faith magic to cast Reason spells was counterproductive to each respecting magic. The church had refused to teach her any attack spells and so she had been trying to learn offensive spells from the little lessons she had received from the teacher Lord Rodrigue had hired a few years ago. Conjuring a fireball with the little knowledge she had was impressive but not helpful at that moment.

Just as she feared the fireball did little to no damage, but it did alert everyone to her presence. She stood frozen in place as the fighting stopped so that all could acknowledge her and she once again her the strange term "Fell Star". Soon the order was given to capture her as well as slay the beast.

Returning to her tried and true method, she unsheathed her sword. The first to come at her was a hulking man and she froze. Memories of that night during the Wyvern Moon overwhelmed her. The man coming at her was not the same man as that night, but his build was similar enough. Breathing became all but impossible and her hands shook terribly.

"Move child!" roared a powerful voice and it was enough to break her free of her thoughts and she was able to stumble back just in time to narrowly avoid a powerful jet of water that took out the man as well as several other assailants.

Her eyes darted to where the jet of water had come from and saw the creature drop to one of its knees. Forgetting about her for a moment all the masked villains rushed towards the creature. Gritting her teeth, she clutched her sword in a death grip, and ran towards the creature.

She slashed against the first person she reached, and he dropped to the ground dead with barely a gasp escaping him. Ignoring the blood that splattered across her face, she then ran her sword through the back of the next person she reached, and even more blood splashed across her face. Her face never reflected a single emotion, despite the overwhelming disgust she was feeling at that moment.

She stared down the two people that stopped their assault to face her. "Wait for your opponent," that was what her father had taught her, "wait for them to make the first moment and learn from them". She always followed his advice but that night she didn't. Conjuring another weak fireball, she launched it at her first target, she was going to try and copy what the assassin that attacked Edelgard and Dimitri did but having to deal with two opponents put a wrench in her little plan.

She wasn't able to get very far in her charge before the woman that she had been ignoring charged at her with a dagger. The smaller weapon was easily swatted away by the sword that Byleth wielded. Before the woman could recoil away, the mercenary punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground. With sword raised, Byleth was ready to plunge it into the woman's chest but was stopped by the man tackling her to the ground.

The man had pinned her sword arm to the ground as he sat over her. She was in the same situation as that one night; fear should have gripped her, but it didn't, she just felt numb to the whole situation. He gripped her neck while hers gripped his. He laughed at her weak grip but soon his laughter turned to screams of pain as an all-consuming burning sensation scarred his neck. With him off of her she was able to thrust her sword into his chest, before shoving him aside.

Byleth wasn't given a moment to collet herself, before a dagger pierced her left shoulder but not a peep escaped her. Grabbing the wrist of the woman, she kept her in place as the younger woman's sword returned the favor. The woman's limp body fell away and Byleth stood up and pulled the dagger out of her shoulder and she barely acknowledge the pain.

During her little skirmishes, the sounds of battle had been drowned out and all at once they collided against her. Though she did not like such sounds it at least meant that the battle was still ongoing, and she was delighted to discover that the beast was still fighting strong. Only for a brief moment did she allow a chance for her to collect herself before running towards the creature.

The creature let out a ferocious roar and it halted her in her tracks. It swung its powerful neck and knocked three masked people far into the freezing lake. Several spells were swung at it and it brushed them off as if it was nothing as it slammed its foot down onto one of the mages.

It roared again but that time she pushed through it to attack the nearest mage. With more strength than needed she rammed her sword into the mage's chest, burring her sword to the hilt in the man's body. A small cry left the man along with his life and with indifference she kicked him off of her sword and watched as his body sink beneath the water.

No time was given to her to realize her lack of empathy as she felt an arrow pierce her back. She only allowed for the quietest gasp to escape her before turning to face her new opponent. She was not given the chance to retaliate as the creature had finished off the archer with a massive swing of its neck and the archer flew into the lack.

With the archer gone the battle was officially over and Byleth had no idea what to make of everything. Exhaustion had finally caught up with her and she struggled to remain standing. Soon the horrors of her actions flooded her mind and her sword easily slipped from her fingers as she slowly brought her trembling hands up to her face and the feel of blood was sickening. Being a mercenary meant that she would have to kill, she knew that, but what she didn't know or want was the numbness to it during the heat of battle. She never wanted killing to be that easy to her.

"Sothis," a voice called. Her head shot up and she looked around for the source and yet no one was around, except for the creature that was watching her.

"Are you really Sothis?" the creature asked, and her eyes widened. She had heard him speak during the battle, but she didn't really have the time register to where the voice had come from and despite that she was having a hard time believing it. And the name Sothis, she had never heard it before, but it sounded so familiar to her somehow.

"No," she finally said, when she realized that she was being rude. "My name is Byleth Eisner," she said after bowing. "I do not know who this Sothis is."

The creature narrowed its eyes at her or at least that's what she thought it was doing. "I see," it finally said after a few seconds. "Well then Byleth Eisner. I must thank you for coming to my aid."

"Oh, I didn't really do anything. You did most of the fighting." She could have sworn it was smiling at her, but it was hard to tell. Amongst her exaggerated gestures of denying her usefulness, she became aware of her shoulder injury as well as reminded of the arrow in her back.

"Come here Byleth." She walked over to the creature and it bent over her to grab the arrow on her back and pull it out and because of the unexpectedness and pain of it she screamed out. "Forgive me! I should have informed you of my intentions. I forget humans' hide is not as durable as my kinds."

Trying to hold back whimpers of pain she assured him that she was fine with a few pats to his neck that she could reach. He rested his head on top of hers and she felt the comforting warmth of Faith magic. While it didn't fully heal her wounds, it did help greatly as well as enhance her exhaustion.

"If only my niece Cethleann was here. She would have done a much better job at healing your wounds."

"Oh no, you've done a great job. Thank you so much."

"You are a sweet child."

The two shared a comfortable silence as Byleth washed her face and sword clean. The creature watched as she avoided the bodies that were scattered around. Her attackers always seemed to leave her with more questions and no answers and that didn't sit well as she tried her best to avoid looking at them.

"Are they targeting you as well?" The sudden question caught her off guard for a bit but eventually she nodded. "I see. Well as a show of my thanks I will lend you some of my power." She opened her mouth to protest but he didn't allow her to speak. "Do you have an item that I may bless?" Pouting a little, she held up her sword and dagger as they had been the only things, she had brought with her. "I could use those, but weapons are so prone to breaking." She dug around her jacket's pockets to see if she had forgot something in them and she did, the necklace that Dimitri had given her. "That will do excellently."

She held up the necklace to the creature. Gently, it placed its chin on the necklace, and she feared that it would break it. A comforting warmth was soon emitting form the necklace. She looked at the necklace for a bit before looking back up at the creature.

"I have placed a powerful ward on it. That should help protect you from those assailants." It started to turn its back on her, while she clasped the necklace around her neck. "Now, if you will please excuse me. I have expended much of my energy and would like to rest now."

"Oh yes," she clumsily said, "Thank you very much…um…"

The creature had started to chuckle, and it was just full of surprises to her as she didn't realize such a beast could laugh. "It has been so long since I have last interacted with anyone that it seems I have forgotten my manners. I am Indech."

"Thank you Indech," Byleth said with a bow. Indech gave her a small nod before slipping into the water's depths and vanishing from sight.

Quietly she made her way back to camp as her mind was reeling with everything that had just happened. She had been tempted to believe that everything was a dream until she had heard loud commotions coming from her camp. As fast as she could she rushed into the camp and discovered that everyone was running around in a panic, but she couldn't spot a single enemy.

A collective yell of her name rang out, when she was finally noticed. Her father pushed past everyone to throw his arms around her in a death grip. His face was buried into her shoulder as he cried out a prayer of thanks. It was only then that she realized how cruel she had been for not say anything. Wrapping her arms around him, she had tired to bring him comfort by assuring him that she was fine.

After Jeralt had calmed down some, she was handed off to the medic, in the group, to finish treating her wounds, while everyone else swiftly went about breaking down camp. Within an hour and in the middle of the night the Jeralt mercenaries were on the move, they would not set up camp again until evening came. She had tried to explain everything to her father, which only infuriated him and the others. For the next two months Byleth was not allowed to be alone and it would have been for far longer if that year had been a kind one.

**Twentieth**** of the Lone Moon:**

Dimitri was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he looked at all the knights before him. He was about to set off on his first family trip with his new stepmother that wasn't to visit some kingdom's noble's land. While Duscur was said to be a land of no real importance, it was still a place that Dimitri had yet to visit and so that made the trip even more exciting. He wonder if Byleth had ever been there before? He made note to collect as many of the unique flowers that he could find so that he could give them to her.

"Dimitri," his father called as he walked over to him. The young boy teared his eyes away from the knights to look at his father. King Lambert smiled down at his son and roughed up the boy's nicely combed hair. "Are you excited?"

"Yes!" Dimitri practically shouted as he pumped his fists into the air. "It has been so long since we went on a trip!"

King Lambert continued to smile down at his son. "Do not forget we are going there for business."

"That does not mean we cannot have fun, while we are at it." The father messed up his son's hair some more.

The king did notice a particularly important piece of jewelry missing from his son's arm. "Dimitri, where is your bracelet?"

The said boy had to dig around in his pack before he found it and proudly held it up in the air. The father took the bracelet and put it on Dimitri's wrists. Frowning the prince tried to slip it off but his father stopped him.

"What did I say about wearing it?"

"It is too big. I am afraid that it will slip off and I will lose it." King Lambert looked at his son for bit before taking the bracelet and adjusting his son's belt. He slipped the bracelet into the belt and was pleased with himself that the item was staying, but his son was frowning.

"This looks ridiculous," Dimitris said with a pout and gestured to the weird belt, bracelet combo.

"Maybe, but at least the bracelet is on you."

The sound of laughter caused the little family to look up and see Glenn laughing and pointing to the bracelet. He then proceeded to rough up the prince's hair even more, if Dimitri's handmaid could see him then, she would surly throw a fit for having her hard work be destroyed. Huffing out his annoyance, the prince gestured to Glenn to get his silent point across.

"Are you trying to start a new fashion trend?" Glenn teased as he flicked the bracelet. With wide eyes he touched it again and brought his attention to the king, who gave him a small nod. "Where did you guys find such a thing?"

"It seems that even the magically challenged Glenn can see the importance of it," the king said, and Dimitri's pout remained.

"If you are just going to insult me, Your Majesty then maybe I will not go on your little trip," Glenn teased back. He went back to looking at the bracelet and ran his fingers over it. "But seriously where did you guys get such an item?"

"By made it," Dimitri answered.

"She did?!" He crouched low so that he could properly examine the bracelet. "Of course, she did," Dimitri heard the teen mumble, "she is just full of surprises."

"I am sure she will make you one if you ask."

"I do not think she will or at least I am positive that Sir Jeralt would not let her make another one," King Lambert said, and Dimitri's eyes flew to him. "I would not be surprised to learn if she spent a few days in bed with a high fever or maybe even a small coma." Dimitri's eyes widen, he didn't want Byleth to go that far to make him a gift. He was going to have to let her know that the next time he saw her. "She must have expended all her magic at once to make such a gift. She more than likely suffered magic exhaustion afterwards." The father patted his son's head. "So, you better keep that bracelet with you at all times." Dimitri vigorously nodded his head.

"Your Majesty," a knight called right when he arrived at the little group, "we are ready to depart whenever you are."

**Harpstring Moon 1176:**

**Fourth of the Harpstring Moon:**

A plate shattered when it collided against the floor and all eyes in the tavern flew to the young woman that dropped it. Shaking, Byleth stared at Muharib with wide yes. Her mouth hung open, but it was far to dry for a word to slip out, even if her mind could form one. The man could no longer look at her and turned his head away, closing his eyes and pressing his lips tightly together.

Shaky hands gripped his shirt and with an incredibly weak force shook him, though he barely moved. Gritting his teeth, he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. The shaking stopped as she leaned against him and he finally moved to lightly wrap his one arm around her, while his other combed through her hair.

Byleth looked at her father, who was stunned into silence. He stared at Muharib but his gaze was unfocused. She reached out to grab him, but he was just to far out of her reach, and he was completely unaware of her attempt. Slowly she brought her arm back to her chest.

"What did you say?" she asked in a meek voice and Muharib's grip on her tightened and his fingers stopped in her hair.

He didn't speak. His throat was tight, and he wasn't sure if he could even speak. The weak grip on his shirt tighten only a little and he knew he would have to repeat those awful words again.

"The kingdom's royal…," he tried to say again but the words were lodged in his throat. It took him a few seconds, but he was able to say the rest, "family is dead."

He wrapped his arms around her to keep her from dropping to the floor. She said no more as she stared at nothing. The vile words echoing in her mind along with Dimitri's innocent face. The pain in her chest was so great that she was sure that everything inside of it was shattered into tiny pieces.

"Not the entire family," one of the tavern's patrons spoke up as he walked over to the little group. "The prince survived. Supposedly, he was the only survivor."

She stared at the stranger for a moment as his words sunk in. In a flash she broke free of Muharib's grip and rushed towards the door. Jeralt broke free from his shock just in time for him to engulfed her from behind in a tight embrace before she could reach the door. She struggled in vain to be free of his grip.

"Let me go!" she screeched.

"Byleth, the kingdom is in chaos!" Jeralt shouted back as he increased his hold on her.

"I have to go!"

"They will not let you see him!"

"Aster…Aster needs…me…" All her fight left her, and he dared to release his hold. She dropped to her knees and a chocked sob finally escaped her. Burring her face into her hands, her body shook with each sob. Despite the intense grief she was feeling, not a single tear slid down her face.

* * *

Slowly she awoke to darkness. Staring up at the roof of her inn's room, she tried to recall when she fell asleep, though she suspected that she probably passed out. After awhile she finally pushed herself up and looked around her room, she was alone.

She dragged herself out of her bed and looked out her windows to the empty street below. The little numbness she had been feeling gave away to the intense grief from earlier. Dropping to her knees, she desperately wanted to believe that everything had been a horrible nightmare and she would awake at any moment, but she knew that wouldn't happen.

Eventually she left the room in search for her father and it didn't take long for her to find him and the rest of her mercenary company. They were all sitting around at the inn's tables drinking. They were usually loud and jolly during such times but that time they were quiet and somber.

She wanted to call out to her father and seek his comfort, but King's Lambert's face flashed before her. Sliding down to her knees she muffled the sob that escaped her so she wouldn't disturb anyone. No longer would she get to see the king, and no longer would she get to hear him call her his daughter. Her hands were strongly pressed against her mouth to silent her sobs.

Queen Patricia then flashed before her mind and another sob rocked her body. Arguably she did not know the queen consort very well, but she grew to be incredibly fond of the woman. No longer would she get to feel the nice warmth that blossomed in her chest whenever the queen did her hair or see the effort that she was putting in to get stronger and better. Now who would teach her how to do her hair?

And lastly Dimitri flashed before her. He was all alone now. How could she seek her father's comfort when he couldn't? Rising onto her feet, she found her resolved and rushed back to her room.

Digging into her bag she found a piece of parchment and a small ink well and feather. Hastily she scribbled her note for her father and left it on the little desk, in the room. Trying to escape through the front would be pointless as someone would surly spot her, so she chose to leave through the window. Being on the second floor, meant she had a little fall, but it wouldn't be something she couldn't handle.

Her legs cried out when she hit the ground, but she ignored them as she ran towards the stables.

**Twenty-second of the Harpstring Moon:**

Byleth had been incredibly cruel to her father's horse and pushed him much to hard. But she had too, she needed to see Dimitri as soon as possible and she couldn't risk her father or his men, catching up to her and dragging her back. It was only when Fhirdiad was in sight that she finally let up on the poor horse.

"Please, I beg of you!" I need to see his royal highness!" Byleth had been begging the two guards that were stationed just outside of the castle's gates for awhile now.

"I am sorry Byleth but you cannot enter. No one can," the more friendly knight had explained as he was the one that was most familiar with her, while the other knight had been glaring at her profusely, but she ignored him. "The castle is on lock down until further notice." The knight leaned towards her and whispered into her ear, "You need to leave. It isn't safe for you here." He pulled back and kept on a neutral expression, despite her staring at him in bewilderment.

Ignoring his warning she tried to push again but he wouldn't have it and finally the other knight stepped in and threatened to throw her in jail. Gritting her teeth, she hopped back on her horse and rode away. She was going to get into the castle, even if she had to trespass and she knew the perfect spot to do so. She rode out of Fhirdiad quickly so that she could ride to her destination swiftly.

When night had descended was when she made her way over to her destination on foot, as she had left her father's horse a bit away so that guards wouldn't find it. The backside of the castle's walls had a bit of space between it and the small forest that surrounded it, except for one lone tree on the back-east side of the castle. Its massive branches expanded over the castle's walls and into the gardens, making it possible for someone to sneak in. An assassin had done just that when she was twelve and she still did know why the tree wasn't cut down then; it mattered little now as it was the perfect assist for her.

There was just one little problem and that was climbing the tree. Its trunk was far to wide for her to wrap her arms around and the closest branch was very much out of her reach even if she jumped. That was her best option to get inside and so she wasn't going to let this little obstacle stop her.

She had never done it before, but she decided that her best option was to run up the wall as much as she could and then kick off of it and hoped that would give her enough height to reach the branch. First attempt went horrible, as she was only able to do two steps before falling. Next attempt went slightly better, but she was still far from her goal. With each try she was slowly getting better, but she knew she needed to hurry, before a patrol could come by. On her tenth attempt she barely managed to grab hold of one of the smaller branches sprouting form the main branch, and fate decided to bless her as the little branch held on long enough for her to grab the main one.

Carefully she climbed the other branches until she reached one of the other branches that extended into the gardens. She hesitated a bit before dropping down as it was a bit higher than she expected but she did it anyway and her legs screamed at her. With the castle in a state of panic, she had expected a lot of guards and yet the section of the gardens, she found herself in, was vacant and it was unsettling to her. Pushing her feelings aside, she kept to the shadows as she made her way over to Dimitri's room.

The castle was deathly silent, and she didn't like it; even in the dead of night, when she was staying in the castle, she could still hear something but now…she feared that this was what castle Fhirdaid would always be like. She had only passed a handful of people on her way to Dimitri's room and that bothered her. Where were all the knights? She was relived to find at least two guards stationed outside her friend's room, even if it proved to be problematic for her.

Slipping into the room just a few doors down, she froze when she heard sounds coming form the bed. Whoever rested int the bed didn't seem to be disturbed by her and she released a quiet sigh of relief as she slowly crept towards the doors that led to the balcony. Once at the doors she glanced back at the bed, to see if she had disturbed the person and thanks to the feint moonlight the filtered in, she could make out that it was a man with blond hair. It was incredibly foolish, she knew that, but she needed to see the man's face to see if maybe, just maybe, it was King Lambert, but she heard the sounds of a woman mumble and then saw the lady's arm drape over the man, did she come to her sense and rushed back to the doors. She wasn't even in King Lambert's room, she needed to come to her sense and face reality.

Once onto the balcony her next challenged presented itself as she was going to have to balcony hop and this time the height wouldn't be something she could brush off if she fell. Standing on the railings she took a deep breath before leaping onto the next one. Her feet landed on the railing and she fell forward with a large crash and she froze. She waited a few minutes to see if anyone would react but when nothing happened, she took another leap of courage onto the next one and had a slightly nicer landing.

Finally, she arrived at her destination and released a shaky breath. She muttered a silent Almyran curse when she discovered that the doors were locked. Unable to do anything else she tapped against the door and quietly called for Dimitri and hoped that he hadn't fallen asleep yet. After a minute of nothing happening, she was about ready to call it quits and just spend the night there, when she could hear the quiet click of the lock, unlocking.

The little smile on her face quickly turned natural when it wasn't Dimitri that opened the door but a dark-skinned boy with white hair that she had never met before. They silently stared at each other. Without ever taking her eyes off of the strange boy she reached for her dagger.

"Dedue? What is wrong?" She could hear Dimitri's voice from just beyond that door and she no longer cared about that boy. Ignoring the boy, she pushed past him and elude his grasps as she rushed inside.

Sitting on his bed was the boy she had been so desperate to see. His eyes widen, when her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. He was about to shout her name, but she silenced him by covering her mouth.

"I'm not allowed inside the castle," she said quietly, "if they find me, I'll surely be thrown out."

He pulled her hand away and as his shock gave away, his body began to tremble, and his voice became lost, but she knew what he wanted to say. "I," her own voice started to give, "I just couldn't leave you alone. Not after everything…"

Dimitri gave into his tears and dragged her onto his bed in a tight embrace. He buried his face into her shoulder and released the sob that he had been holding in. Knowing that there were no words that could possibly ease the pain that either of them were feeling, all she could do was just gently rub his back as well as bury her face into his shoulder.

As she listened to his sobs and felt her shoulder grow wet with h tisears, she felt horrible. Despite how much she loved King Lambert she could not shed a single tear for him. What was wrong with her? He deserved all her tears and then some and yet she could not produce a single one. Dimitri had told her that she wasn't emotionally stunted, but this had to be the final proof that she was. She squeezed him harder and offered apologies to King Lambert and Queen Patricia in her heart for not being able to properly mourn for them.

They stayed like that for some time before exhaustion got the better of him and he passed out. Gently she laid him down and tucked him in. She stared at his sleeping face and it was a stab at her heart, but she ignored it as she wiped the tears from his face. She wished she could do more, but she was useless in everything that was emotions.

Finally, she turned her attention onto the other boy, in the room. That entire time he remained rooted in place and was silent. Crawling off the bed, she bowed to the boy. "I am Byleth Eisner." She didn't have much expectations, but she at least expected some kind of reaction. He just stared at her in silence and she struggled to not fidget under his gaze. Briefly she wondered if that was how people must have felt under her gaze, when she was younger.

Figuring that maybe he didn't like bowing, she held out her hand towards him for a handshake. He looked at it and then at her but made no other move. She took a step forward and he took a step back, his once carefully watching eyes took on a frightened look. She immediately halted in her place and brought her arm back to her side.

Instinctively, he took another step back and was now fully in the light from the moon. Bandages covered much of his visible body and she pressed her lips tightly together. Why was he covered in bandages when he was in the castle? Surely, the healers could treat him properly. She glanced back at Dimitri and wondered if he, too, was covered in bandages as she did feel something strange under his tunic.

Looking at the boy, she held up her hands. "I can heal you." Again, he said nothing and just watched her wearily. "Let me treat your wounds." As she took a step forward, he took a step back, so she stopped. "I won't hurt you."

The boy continued to say nothing, and she was starting to wonder if he was mute. Their little one-two step dance ended, when he bumped into the wall. Momentarily they halted before she took another step forward and he threw his hands in front of him and shouted a word she had never heard before. Now it all made sense to her, he didn't say anything because of a language barrier.

The mercenary stopped and held up her hands and waited for the boy to slowly bring down his own. Once, he seemed to be a little calmer, she pointed to herself. "Byleth." She repeated it a few more times before pointing to the sleeping prince. "A-Dimitri." She was surprised at how hard it was to say her friend's name and realized she actually hadn't said his name in over five years. After she was sure that he got the point she pointed to the boy.

It took a moment, but he finally said his name and repeated it, just like how she did. She smiled at him and said his name and he nodded. Hesitantly, he repeated her name and she nodded, and that seemed to calm him some.

"I, Byleth," she pointed to herself, "will heal," she hoped that the glow of her hand will help get the point across, "you, Dedue," she ended it by pointing to him. He pointed to himself and repeated his name and she nodded while repeating what she said.

She took a step forward and he went ridged so she stopped. Tilting her head to the side and then rested it on her knuckles, she tried to figure out a better way to communicate. Eventually she decided it would be better to just show him.

Unsheathing her dagger, she saw the color drain from his face. She gestured wildly to try and communicate she wasn't going to hurt him, but it was going nowhere. In haste she cut her arm to get to her point but accidently cut deeper than she meant to. Besides it stinging more and she would have a little scare from it, but it was alright.

Putting her dagger away she showed the boy her wound, who looked at her horrified. Quickly she covered her wound and channeled Faith magic into it. She had been taught that using Faith magic on oneself was highly taxing, but she didn't think healing such a small wound would be so draining. Taking a second to compose herself, she showed off her arm to Dedue and the horror left his face to be replaced with curiosity.

Once again, she began her small track over to him but this time he didn't have such a strong reaction to it. When she was right in front of him, she noticed that he was taller than her but not by much and wondered how old he was. She pointed to one of his injured arms and hoped he would be willing to give it to her with little coaxing; she smiled when he gave it to her.

She ran her hand over his bandages and gave him an apologetic smile when she noticed him wincing. Without removing the bandages, she could not tell if there were more to his wounds than simple cuts, if there was then there was little, she would be able to do at her current skill level. Wrapping her hands around the wound she channeled her magic into it and was surprised at how tired she became from just healing one arm. She knew she hadn't been taking proper care of herself for the last two weeks but surely, she could heal more than that.

When she pulled her hands away, Dedue quickly went about unwrapping the bandages and revealed the scar from the wound she healed as well as several burns and now she understood her exhaustion. Wounds from magical fire can be healed as all one has to do is remove the magical residue, but natural fire wounds were a different story; they couldn't be treated unless right away. He held up the arm again to her and all she could do was shake her head.

She couldn't really convey anything, but he seemed to have gotten the point and hesitantly handed her his other arm. With her little skills she wasn't able to concentrate her magic onto healing the wounds she could heal, so much of her energy was wasted on healing burns, but that was okay because she could at least help sooth some of his pain for a bit.

Once his arms were done, he removed his tunic to reveal more bandages. She pressed her lips tightly together when she saw the numerous cuts, bruises, and burns that littered his body. She wondered if he had a least had a shield or something as his more vital locations were at least spared such horrible treatment. He had to be in so much pain and yet no one healed him? She glanced back at Dimitri and she feared he was in a similar situation.

Gently, she placed her hands on his chest and waited to see if he would react negatively to her actions, but he didn't. To have the greatest effect for Faith magic was to put one's hands on the wounds but he had so many she didn't even know where to place her hands. Taking a deep breath, she channeled her magic into the whole of his body, to try and get all of his wounds at once, especially to any unseen injuries. Just before she exhausted all of her magic, she stopped but it wasn't enough to stop her from losing consciousness.

* * *

Slowly her eyes opened, and she stared up at the roof. A quiet, shout of her nickname didn't register to her but when Dimitri came into view, did her eyes finally focus. She noticed that he was on the verge of tears, so she placed one of her hands gently on his face and he the threw his arms around her in an awkward hug.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked and she rubbed his back as best as she could in her position. "Y-you were not waking up and I…" He was unable to finished as a sob ripped through him and he squeezed her tighter.

"I'm sorry. I used a bit too much magic," she explained but it didn't seem to be enough to comfort him.

She continued to rub his back as her eyes looked around the room for the other boy. He had been sitting against the wall with his knees tucked up to his chest, watching them carefully. She beckoned for Dedue to come to her and he did al bit hesitantly. She pointed to his tunic and motioned upwards, and he got the point and lifted it and she was relieved that she was able to treat everything that was in her power, at least.

"T-thank you," Dedue said in a quiet and hesitant voice. His accent had been so thick that she might have not understood him, if she wasn't aware of what he was trying to convey.

"You are welcome," she said slowly, and he nodded though she was sure he didn't really know what that meant. She had to fight Dimitri some what to be able to sit up a little so that she could pat Dedue on the head, and he seemed to like that. "Do you speak Fodlanese?" He just stared at her.

"Dedue only knows the few words that I have taught him," Dimitri said and sniffled a little as he let her go. "Thank you for treating Dedue's wounds. The palace healers refused to do so."

She looked at Dedue, who despite not really understanding what they were saying seemed to understand what point the prince was making and looked away. "And why wouldn't they?"

"Because he is a Duscurian."

She stared at the boy in silence as she didn't know what to make of that information. For two weeks she had been harboring an intense hatred for the people of Duscur and she just helped one, a weak and terrified boy, who could not have been responsible for such a horrible event. A young, Duscur man, despite everything that her friend had experienced was by the prince's side, and it just didn't add up to her. Sitting up she looked between the two boys, still trying to figure out her feelings.

"But…Didn't they…" She was struggling to find the words.

"The people of Duscur are innocent! They are not the monsters that did such a wretched, atrocious thing!" Bawling his fits so tightly that his knuckles turned white and he glared at them with such an intensity that she didn't know he was capable of. She did not like the look in his eyes.

"I believe you," she quickly said before his thoughts could spiral to a place she didn't like.

"Y-you do?" he asked so quietly that it pulled at her heart.

"Of course, I will always believe you." He pulled her into such a tight embrace that he managed to knock the wind out of her. He buried his face into her chest and was trembling. She could sense that he was trying to hold back his tears, though she couldn't understand why. "You can cry. It is alright." He squeezed her tighter but did not cry, and she ran her hand through his hair.

After a few seconds, he gained some control and pulled away to look at her and finally she could properly look into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that reminded her of the sky, were now dull and almost, lifeless. Biting back a sob she pulled him back into her own tight embrace. She rested her head on his as she whispered apology after apology, for not being there. He said nothing but hugged her back.

They stayed liked that for a bit before he pulled back and assured her that she did nothing worthy of apologizing for. Silence engulfed the room as neither of them could find the words to speak, not that they could focus on a thought long enough to even think about taking about it. Her eyes drifted over to Dedue and to the scars on his arms.

"Aster, do you have any untreated wounds?" He flinched and looked away. "Show me." He didn't move and so she called him again with a much more forceful tone.

Fidgeting, he still refused to look at her. "You are still recovering from using too much magic. I will be fine."

Byleth cupped the prince's face and forced him to look at her. His dull eyes were a stab at her heart, but she ignored it to give him a small smile. "I will be fine, so please show me."

Reluctantly he pulled up his tunic and removed his bandages. His back was covered in scars and burns and a rage burned inside her, but she ignored it. Gently, she placed a hand on his back, and he flinched. Though she had little knowledge in this field, she could at least tell that his wounds had only receive normal treatment methods, no healing magic was used.

"Why-" she stopped to better mask her anger, "why did no one use Faith magic on your wounds?"

"By the time, I had arrived at the palace, my wounds have gone so long without it that Cornelia said it would be pointless and a waste of magic to treat them."

She gritted her teeth. It might have been to late to mitigate the scars, but they could have still helped with speeding up the healing process as well as weakening his pain. She took a deep breath to control her anger and said nothing.

"It is alright, By. Do not waste your magic."

Ignoring him, she placed both of her hands onto his back and channeled her remaining magic into him. She would have been fine with spending all of her magic on him but knew that it would only upset him. When someone expends too much magic, it was a slow recovering process, but she knew she was different as it could take her as short as a day to recover, though that was when she was properly taking care of herself. Overestimating herself, she collapsed onto him but managed to remain conscious.

He was about to shout her name, but she managed to stop him by covering his mouth. "I snuck in. I will be in trouble if they find me."

Dimitri pulled her hand away and turned to face her. He was about to complain but she spoke first, "I just used a bit more magic than I was planning. I will be fine." She smiled at him to comfort him, but he frowned instead.

"I told you to not waste your magic!"

"How do you feel?" The frown left his face as realization set it.

"…A lot better." His frown returned when he looked into her tired eyes. "But still!"

"I'm glad." She laid down as she could feel her exhaustion clawing at her. "I just need a little rest. I will be fine, I promise."

* * *

Evening had settled in, when she finally awoke. Her body was incredibly stiff as she sat up. She knew she shouldn't cast magic for awhile and hoped that she got all of Dimitri's and Dedue's wounds. Looking around she had discovered that she was alone.

Sitting in the room, she tried to figure out what to do next. She knew she couldn't stay there forever, she needed to get back to her father. She wondered how worried he was and hoped that he was okay. Would he forgive her for running away? Of course, he would, she quickly realized how stupid that thought was. She was starting to miss her father and was feeling guilty for wanting to return to him, when Dimitri couldn't.

The door started to open, and, in a panic, she hid behind the curtains that covered the balcony's doors. It was arguably a terrible hiding spot, but it was the best she could do at such a short noticed. Only when she heard the familiar call of her nickname, did she peak out.

Dimitri had brought her some food. It had been picked at, but she didn't care as her stomach growled out for it. The food was cold but that didn't really matter as she had worse, a lot worse. It didn't take long for her to consume the meal as it had been her first proper meal in two days.

Night had fallen and so it was the perfect time to slip out of the castle; even though she didn't want to leave Dimitri behind. The problem was how was she supposed to bring up the goodbye to her friend as he had been clinging to her, since dinner time. Deciding to just get it over with, she grabbed her bag and stood near the balcony doors. She wasn't ready to leave him but staying would be far to risky.

"No!" Dimitri shouted before she could say anything. He wrapped her in a tight grip, one she couldn't break free from. "Please, do not leave me! I beg of you!"

"Aster, I…," she didn't know how to finish that thought so she just hugged him back. "I'm sorry-" he squeezed her even tighter, causing her to be being unable to breath and thus finish that thought. He quickly realized that he was holding her to tight but only let up a little.

"No," he said weakly and she could feel small drops of tears on her shoulder. "I need you. …Please stay…"

She gripped him as her own voice was no where to be found. She didn't want to leave him, she wanted to stay and alleviate some of his pain, if only a little. But she knew she couldn't stay. She needed to go back to her father and that was causing the guilt to consume her.

Neither his grip, his pleas, or her guilt relented and ultimately, she agreed to stay.

* * *

Ugh this chapter is terrible! I hate it! I'm no good a writing this type of stuff…Hopefully my next chapter will be better! Also guess who just realized that she could have been bolding the months? :D

Head cannons:

Byleth's necklace will now greatly boost her resistances as well as prevent her mask assailants from being unable to teleport her far, if they were ever to get their hands on her. It also works as a double edge sword as Faith magic wouldn't be as effective on her, if she has it on her possession.

Magic Exhaustion: So, everyone has a set amount of magic they can use at a give time (think of MP). It is possible for someone to cast more than it is safe for them, but it is highly dangerous, and the person will suffer some great consequences for it. To avoid exhaustion it is highly recommended that mages reserve at least a small amount of their magic to not only avoid exhaustion but as well as to speed up the recovery of their energy.

Depending on the type of magic a person uses depends on what kind of exhaustion they will experience for those that use fire or thunder magic they usually suffer for a high fever for several days.

Those that favor Blizzard or wind spells will go into hypothermia and will need to be constantly monitored for the next few days.

Faith magic usually leaves the person in a deep sleep for a few days.

Dark magic can have several different effects from leaving a person in daze for days to even instant death. It is the one magic that is most advised to not suffer magic exhaustion from.

Recovery for Magic exhaustion: Overcoming the effects is not enough to be able to once again cast magic. It can take a few days before the person has recovered enough of their energy to be able to cast a spell again. Byleth is an incredible exception as she can cast a spell as quickly after a half day of rest (she still suffers the same amount of time for magic exhaustion as everyone else).

Magic Residue: Each spell leaves a residue behind after hitting their target and in order for magic wounds to be healed the Faith magic must wash away the residue and replace it with the Faith magic's. Magic wounds require the most effort from energy from the caster to heal.


	11. Chapter 11

Because I was just eager to get passed this point in the story, I decided to upload this chapter quickly (It did help that it is a short one).

To those that told me that I wrote the Tragedy of Duscur to soon, I want to make it known that I did not. The game starts off in the year 1180 and four years before that is the Tragedy, so 1176 is the right year to write the event as I did. The game never provided an exact month so I was given liberties to decided when during the year to do so I decided on it happening at the beginning of the year when it would be more easy to travel to such a place in the Kingdo

Ages:

Byleth: 16

Dimitri: 12

Dedue: 13

* * *

**1176:**

Taking care of two emotionally damaged kids as well as keeping herself hidden away in a room was absolutely horrible. Byleth had quickly come to regret her decision but she couldn't leave. She couldn't leave Dimitri no matter how torturous her situation was.

When she had learned that Glenn had died that day as well, she felt rooted in place. Their relationship was starting to mold into something, something she didn't know but something that she had been excited to see and now…now she would never get to find out. Never being able to challenge him again or even see him again had been another blow to her heart and she didn't even know how her heart was still whole.

Not being able to comfort Felix or Ingrid was painful to her but she already had her hands much too full for even herself to handle. In order to comfort Dimitri, she had masked her hurt and hid it away, but it was eating her alive and there was little she could do about it. Dedue had proved to be a challenge she didn't know how to face. Neither her or Dimitri really knew what the poor Duscurian boy had suffered and even if he could communicate it, he wouldn't. He was content with suffering in silence and that only caused her more pain.

Nights, she had learned were the hardest as the voices Dimitri heard were the loudest then. She hadn't believed him at first because she just couldn't believe that Glenn or King Lambert would say such things, but it was quickly apparent that her friend heard such voices and at times her voice would be drowned out by theirs. She did not know how to combat such voices and so all she could do was remind him that he was a good person, who did nothing wrong; it was weak argument, but it was the best she could come up with.

Byleth had discovered another use for healing magic in her time, trapped in the room, and that was it could bring some comfort from nightmares. Dimitri had suffered from nightmares nearly every night and some would be so intense that she couldn't wake him from it. But thanks to the comforting warmth of Faith magic she learned that she could at least comfort him somewhat and sometimes the nightmares even faded or at least he was able to wake from them.

While Dimitri had been very forth coming with his suffering, Dedue was utterly quiet about his. He showed no signs of having a trauma besides his wounds and the bags under his eyes; and the bags could be easily be brushed off as Dimitri awakening him at night as Byleth had her fair share of bags. She had started to suspect that maybe he didn't suffer as nearly as greatly as Dimitri and had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time but one night she finally heard him cry out during a nightmare.

Ever since that night, she spent her nights sandwich between the two young teens that would constantly awake her, with a powerful squeeze when a nightmare became too much. At first, she could handle it but as the nights dragged on it was becoming much to taxing both physically and mentally for her. Unable to sleep at night and far too much on edge during the day to sleep, had made her ill but she could not seek help nor could she let Dimitri find out, as she couldn't add to his suffering so she continued to suffer in silence.

* * *

Tucked away in one of the room's corners had become Byleth's little spot as she tried to shut everything out, her pain, her intense desire to see her father, her guilt, and the growing hatred for Dimitri that she refused to acknowledge. Hugging her knees tightly to her chest, she buried her face into them as she tried to empty her mind. The days were easier to pass when she had no thoughts or even the sense of time's passing.

Her body had grown weak from lack of use. Her eyes were slowly sinking in and her once tone muscles were slowly eroding away from the lack of a proper diet or the ability to really move around because she was to afraid to make noise. She was starting to look like a shell of her former self.

"Happy birthday By!" Dimitri said and her head shot up to look at him. He hadn't smiled in months, but he tried to put on a small one for her as he presented her food. "I asked the chefs if they could make your favorite."

She didn't say anything, she didn't even acknowledge the food that he was trying to give her; his congratulating words echoed in her mind. It had been over three months since she last saw her father. Over three months since she was last outside or even had a proper bath, outside of the little wiping down she would give herself early in the mornings. Over three months since she last ran around. It had been over three months since she was last outside of that room.

She gritted her teeth as she desperately tried to ignore the hated that was welling up inside of her. Looking away from him, she looked at the food; it was another meal he had neglected to eat. She had quickly discovered that the food he was giving her was parts of his meals that he hadn't eaten and as of late he wasn't even eating many of them. Her nails dug into her legs as she looked away in disgust.

"By? Is something wrong?" She didn't say anything and stared at the wall. "Do you not like it?"

Her throat felt incredibly tight with all the emotions she tried to smother. "You need to eat," he said, and she wanted to laugh. She didn't want to eat, all the food he brought her had lacked flavor. "Come on. Please eat. "He pushed the food closer to her and she had to suppress the desire to smack it away.

"Eat," was the only thing she could trust herself to say without giving away her anger.

"Excuse me?"

"Eat," she said again but that time a hint of her anger seeped through.

"I am not hungry." She exhaled sharply through gritted teeth. "Besides, this is your food."

"It's food that you didn't eat again." Though she wasn't completely able to mask her voice of all her emotions, she was able to at least keep her tone mild. He looked away from her to look at the food.

"It is okay," he said so quietly and she sighed.

"You need to eat." Her tone was neutral as her anger began to leave her.

"You need it more…" He might have blinded himself to a lot of things but even he couldn't deny the terrible state her body was in.

"How about this then?" She felt the desire to protect take over and she looked at him. "You take one bite and then I will take a bite. We will continue this until all the food is gone. Deal?"

"But-"

"If you don't eat than neither will I." She saw how he wanted to protest but soon gave in and took a bite. Before she took a bite, she looked at Dedue, who had been standing a bit a way back with his hands behind his back. "Did you eat your food properly?" He nodded and she narrowed her eyes. He nodded again, a bit more vigorously that time. She never doubted that he ate all his meals, she got the feeling that he understood the importance of food. Satisfied with Dedue's answers she took a bite.

When the food was gone, she returned to silence and looked back at the wall. No longer did she feel her anger, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the boys. Now that she knew just how long that she had been there made the horrible situation worse.

She felt Dimitri's light touch on her shoulder, but she refused to look at him. "By, are you mad?" She stiffened as she didn't want to face him, but his tone had been pleading. Reluctantly, she turned to face him, and his dull eyes were a stab at her heart. Silently, she shook her head no.

"We got you a gift," Dimitri said and gestured for Dedue to come forward and from behind his back he produced a large bouquet of flowers, with most of them being jasmines.

Her eyes widen when the flowers were handed to her. Despite them having such a strong fragrance she couldn't smell them until they were right in front of her. She knew that her senses had dulled but she didn't realize just to how great of an extent.

"We plucked them from the gardens but Dedue was the one that was growing them."

It took everything in her to not crush the flowers in a strong grip. She was living in the castle (if one could call what she was doing as living) and yet she couldn't go out and see all the flowers in bloom. She couldn't even go out to the balcony and look at the gardens below in fear of being discovered. That gift was just an insult to her, and she wanted to crush it.

"I…I like growing f-flowers," Dedue said slowly and fidgeted with his hands. His Fodlanese had greatly improved after she started teaching him. His accent was still thick, but she could at least understand him now. Seeing his little smile had melted her heart, she was happy to see that he at least found something he liked to do in such a difficult environment.

She looked back at the flowers, and her anger slowly melted away. She didn't want to feel such resentment to them, they had lost so much. "Thank you," she said as she closed her eyes. "They are lovely." She decided to focus on nothing else, but the relaxing sent of the flowers.

* * *

Despite being reminded of the day and month not that long ago, Byleth quickly lost track of time as once again everything blended together. Her condition only deteriorated further and soon she could no longer bring herself to eat. Not even the negotiation tactic that she used on Dimitri could get her to eat. It wasn't long after that that she would only move when it was necessary.

Dimitri had been besides himself as he didn't know what to do. If he told a healer than her presence would be known, and she would probably be taken away and absolutely didn't want that, but she also needed to be seen. She had tried to assure him that she was fine, but he knew that was a lie. In the end the fear of losing her had won out and he remained silent.

It was close to evening when two knights stormed into the prince's room. They stared down at the weak girl that was slumped against the wall. Sunken eyes looked up at the knights and a slow smile formed on her lips. She was finally free from her torment.

She had tried to arise to her feet but only fell forward. The knights were forced to hold her up as they guided her out of the room. On their way to their destination they had passed the prince and Dedue. Unable to meet their gazes, she looked away as guilt devoured the relief she had been feeling. Desperately, she tried to ignore Dimitri's despondent cry of her name, but it still pierced her weakened heart.

Byleth had been tossed into a cell in the dungeon and she was ashamed of the joy that she had felt at being in a new location. No sunlight reached her little cell, but she didn't care as she no longer had to deal with the suffocating air of the prince's room and the pressure to be a pillar of strength. Despite being in the dungeon she felt freer.

Her joy did not last long as guilt consumed her. She was free of her suffering, but Dimitri wasn't. In the end she had done very little for him and probably just made things worse. She wished that she could at least apologize to him.

Long had passed her ability to tell the passage of time and so she didn't know how long she was in there before she received a visitor. Her eyes widen and she stumbled over to the bars of the cells. A smile was twitching at the corners of her lips and she wanted to cry out in joy, but reality was quick to break her little illusion as the voice that came out of her illusion wasn't that of King Lambert's but another's. She was unable to hide her hurt, but the man said nothing about it.

King Lambert kept his hair nicely combed back, while the man, before her, kept his blond hair messy. While King Lambert had a small, nicely trimmed beard, the man was clean shaven. Even their eyes were different, the former king's had been a brilliant blue and the man had blue eyes as well but they were a dimmer shade. Their similarities were so great that it was a stab at her heart to continue to look at the man but she couldn't look away.

"So, you are the infamous Byleth Eisner that I have heard so much about," he said, and she matched his stare. It was only then that she noticed the two knights that he had brought along with him. "I would have liked to say, it is a pleasure to finally meet you, but this situation is not an exactly ideal one."

Now coming to her sense, she realized that the man before her must have been Lord Rufus. She had only heard a few thigs about him, like how he was the older brother of King Lambert but because he didn't have a crest that the throne was passed over him and given to his younger brother. She had never seen him at events and based on how little she heard of him from King Lambert or Dimitri, she suspected that he might have resented his family.

She had tried to introduce herself but because of her condition, she struggled to bow and so he stopped her. Using the bars to support herself, she at least refused to sit when he allowed it. She wanted to at least show him as much respect as she could in her position.

"Now Byleth, tell me do you realize how serious the crime you committed is?" Her eyes widen but she shook her head. "It is punishable by death." She hung her head. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nothing," she said as she looked back up at him. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing. "I wanted to see A-His Highness no matter what and I was willing to sneak into the castle to do so." He continued to remain silent. "I just wanted to comfort him, even if it was only a little."

"Your devotion to my nephew is admirable, if not idiotic." She didn't say anything to that.

"I know I have no right to make a request, but may I please write a letter to my father? I owe him an apology for running away."

He was silent for a bit before he looked her over and she fought the urge to shiver under his gaze. "Many of the rumors surrounding you said you are quite the beauty." She didn't know what to say to that. "And though you may not look it now, I can at least see the potential." She didn't like the way he was looking at her, but she made sure to show no signs of it.

"How about I make you a deal." Her eyes widen but she remained silent. He leaned forward a little so that he could be eye level with her. "I will allow you to live in the castle and you can see my nephew all you want and all you have to do is be my lover. How does that sound?"

Pressing her lips tightly together, she rested her head against the bars. A few months ago, she would have accepted that deal with no hesitation but now…Now she just wanted to be far away from the castle, and she hated herself for wanting to abandon Dimitri.

"I see," Rufus said as he stood straight. "Though looking at you, it seems I might have been a little late for my deal." She gave him a small bow and struggled to right herself up from it.

"Well as a final act of kindness for my departed brother, I will let you go." Her head shot up like a wyvern taking flight to look at him. With a simple gesture of his head, he motioned for the knight, behind him, to unlock the cell. Her eyes darted between the knight and Lord Rufus.

The cell's door was open, but she didn't make a move to leave. She just stared at the lord with a million questions running through her mind, but she couldn't think of a single one to ask. Eventually the knight had to come in and drag her out.

"Why?" she was finally asked.

"My brother cared for you deeply as well as does my nephew. He has bothered me every day, begging me to set you free and promising all kinds of things in return." She said nothing as she couldn't look at him any longer. She was only causing problems for Dimitri. "Ultimately, I have decided to reward such dedication. It is a rare thing to see." She nodded to him and said a small thank you.

"This freedom does come with some stipulations." She nodded. "You are to leave the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and never return." Her eyes widen. "Nor are you to have any contact with prince Dimitri or anyone of great importance." She pressed her lips tightly together, in a hope to stop her lips from trembling. Unable to maintain eye contact, lest her emotions show, she looked away.

"I know that this might seem cruel, but it is for the best." Slowly she brought her attention back up to him. "Many believe that you had something to do with the tragedy." She opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her by raising a hand. "I never believed such a rumor and seeing how far you are willing to go for my nephew; it is clear to me that you are not capable committing such an atrocity. But unfortunately, it will mean very little as the rumor will still persist and well…you were already despised by many of the nobles." She said nothing and once again looked away. She knew she wasn't liked but would those nobles really go so far as to put the blame on her? Were they really that cruel? "There is a call for your head." She looked back up at him and she almost couldn't believe what she heard. Did she really deserve such hatred from the kingdom nobles? And all because she wasn't born as a noble?

Having said his peace, Lord Rufus motioned for the knight to take her away. She had to struggle to get the knight to let her go long enough for her to show her appreciation as well as a plea to tell Dimitri and Dedue that she was sorry. The lord spared her no glances or gestures as he continued to walk away.

* * *

In the cover of night, the knight escorted her out of the castle. No one was even aware of her presence throughout their little trek. The knight never said a single word, nor did he spare her the slightest of glances when he shut the gate behind her.

She only stared at the gate for a few minutes before slowly turning to look at the forest. It seemed so unreal to her; she had started to believe that she would never see the outside world again. The gentle breeze against her skin had her heart singing. She would have liked to have felt the warmth of the sun on skin as well but at that moment the calm moonlight was enough. Taking a deep breath, she basked in the still of the night for the first time in such a long time.

Her bliss did not last long as she dropped to her knees soon after as her emotions started to overwhelm her. Joy, at finally being free. Relief, to be free of such heavy burdens. Delight, at the thought that she would soon be reunited with her father. Guilt, for abandoning Dimitri and Dedue. She knew she was letting King Lambert and Glenn down for running away but she couldn't go back, she didn't really want to go back either. And above all those emotions was sadness. The thought of never having to see Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Dedue, and of course Dimitri again was a fear that she never knew that she had. She buried her face into her hands as she just didn't know what to do.

Realizing that just wallowing in all of her feelings wasn't going to get her no where and that she knew she needed to leave before someone spotted her, so she decided to push her feelings aside and press on. What was done, was done, she couldn't change anything; or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself of. Despite all her efforts she was still a weak, little girl, with no power in a nobles' courts. Glancing back at the castle, she gave a silent apology to both Dimitri and Dedue and hoped that each of them will be able to help the other.

With her apology done, she started her trek into the forest. She knew Lord Rufus wanted her out of the Kingdom's lands as soon as possible but at that moment it would be impossible for her. She was going to need a least a few days to recover but with no money to her name it was going to be even more difficult; she wasn't even in the condition to be able to do odd jobs.

She was completely unaware of the attack, until it hit. The fireball should have seared her back but all it did was burn her clothes; in the chaos of everything she missed seeing her necklace that glowed. She didn't have time to really think about why the attack was so ineffective as she quickly spun around to face her attacker, but the swift motion was too much for her haggard body and she stumbled forward. Laughter from her assailants caused her to look up and she found that it was three masked men and her blood ran cold.

The young woman tried to run away but her body was slow and staying upright was just a challenge all on its own. The laughter never ended, and she desperately tried to push her body forward. All too quickly her breathing became haggard and her body cried out in protest. Only a small distance was covered, when she realized that she would not be able to go any further. Her hand flew to her dagger and it was only then that she remembered that it was confiscated when she was thrown into the dungeon.

That was it, she concluded. Her time had finally come. She gritted her teeth and whispered an apology to her father; in the end they wouldn't be reunited, and she had hoped that he would be able to move on from her death. She did take comfort in at least knowing that Dimitri would never learn of her death and wouldn't have to live with the guilt of believing he caused her execution.

When she could no longer run anymore, she turned to face her attackers, who had been casually strolling along. With escape impossible and she knew it would be pointless to wish for a rescue, she decided that she would face them with the little courage she had left. Her father didn't raise a coward.

The men exchanged glances with each other before they cautiously made their way towards her. Looks were shared once again, when they were just a few feet away. Eventually, the bravest of them stepped before her and unsheathed a dagger that was very similar to the one used against her during the Wyvern Moon two years ago. Despite her trying to maintain a brave front, she couldn't help but flinched at the sight of it.

"Are you giving up?" the man asked. She said nothing and glared at him. A final glance back at his fellow men before he plunged the dagger into her chest.

She refused to give them any satisfaction of a reaction. At most they were just allowed the sight of blood trickling down her chin that managed to slip between her sealed lips. He pulled the dagger free and she fell back. The world seemed to slow down as she stared up at the few stars that she could see between the trees' tops. She never imagined that death could be so slow coming, it seemed so fast the first time that she nearly experienced it.

Shouts soon filled the area, but it did not register to her. She closed her eyes as she realized that she could finally sleep. She didn't believe in the afterlife but if it did exist, she hoped that she could at least see king Lambert, Lady Patricia, and Glenn.

Just before she drifted off, she could hear someone pleading for her to stay awake, but she no longer had the strength to do so.


	12. Chapter 12

Age:

Byleth: 17

* * *

**Pegasus Moon 1178:**

For the past two years Jeralt kept an incredibly close eye on his daughter. He never wanted to experience the fear of not knowing where she was or if she was safe or not; that time two years ago was absolute hell and he had no idea he was capable of feeling such fear. If the Kingdom's Regent hadn't been so kind as to inform Jeralt when and where Byleth would have been let out of the castle, he would have lost her that day; and that thought still haunts him to this day.

The doctor that had treated her, after that horrible event, said it was nothing short of a miracle that Byleth had survived. The dagger had nicked an important artery and Faith magic was having no effect on her. She should have died that day, he knew that, and he knew that it was only by the mercy of the goddess that she lived. Despite his major distrust of the church he found himself believing in the goddess again, though he never outwardly showed it.

He had asked Byleth about her experience and it was interesting, despite the horrible feeling it left him. For all the near-death experiences he had and from the ones he heard from others it was usually their lives flashing before their eyes but not for her. She said it was just like her dreams; she was in a dark void, standing before a large throne with a little girl sleeping upon it. She did say something had been slightly different about it at that time and that was that the girl had stirred a little.

Byleth might have survived that horrific situation but her emotions didn't. They had muted greatly but they had been still there, and he had chalked it up to depression and trauma. But after Muharib passed a few months later after a dangerous mission, all her emotions went with him. When she was a child, he could read what she had been feeling in her eyes but now…now there was nothing in them. She was like a living corpse and that devastated him.

Despite everything, Jeralt was happy to know that his daughter still held a strong desire to help people, even if her lack of emotions were frightening to many. That had brought him joy as well as fear, he knew she wasn't the type to hesitate to jump in front of an axe to save someone but she at least had the forethought to at least defend herself while doing so but she no longer did, or it seemed like she no longer cared to do so. She fought with little regard for her own life and while it made her a ferocious warrior, earning her, her own epithet, the Ashen Demon; it was a horrifying quirk she developed and her father would never stray to far from her during battles.

"Kid, the blood," Jeralt called out, when he saw that the kid, they had just saved, flinch away from the bloody hand that Byleth had extended out to him. It was only at her father's words that she noticed the blood and he sighed. He could vividly recall the day when she first had to kill someone and how the sight of blood had repulsed her; and though it was a painful memory to him he could not help but wish for Byleth to return to that old self.

He handed her a towel and she went about wiping herself off as he attended to the child. The child was a Duscurian boy that couldn't have been no older than eleven. Jeralt had to admit that he always liked the Duscurian's white hair and tanned skin, it made them to be some of the most unique looking people in all of Fodlan and it was a shame what had become of their lands and people. The bandits that they had just taken care of were probably planning on selling off the boy to some Kingdom's noble and he felt his blood boil at the thought. King Lambert might have gotten a little to familiar with Byleth for Jeralt's liking but he knew that the king was a good man and only wanted the best for his people and to see how far the Kingdom had fallen without him was a terrible sight.

Pushing his bitter feelings aside, he tried to comfort the boy with a head pat and some soft words, but the boy was understandably terrified of him. "Sha," Byleth said as she crouched down to be eye level with the boy and waved one of her hands. The boy perked up at hearing a word in his native tongue. It wasn't the first time that he heard her speak Duscurian but it was always a surprise. She had apparently learned a few words from the Duscur boy living with the prince during her imprisonment at the castle.

"Tia Byleth." The boy nodded when she pointed to herself. "Shala?"

"Salu." With a small nod Byleth repeated the boy's name and he gave her a small smile.

It was slow going but the boy started to trust Byleth and clung to her. They might have looked nothing alike but one might have thought that they were brother and sister or even mother and son with how Byleth doted on the boy; the latter thought did not sit well with Jeralt because even though she was getting close to marriable age, it was far to soon for his daughter to be thinking of having children. Salu's presence did help endear Byleth to the newer members of the mercenary company that had found her terrifying.

After a few days Salu felt comfortable enough to let Byleth know in his broken Fodlanese that he and his family were on their way to Almyra to escape Fodlan when they had been attacked by a different bandit group and were separated. He then proceeded to beg her to take him to Almyra as he was sure he would meet his family there and she had agreed without a second thought, complicating things for her father. Ever since the Tragedy of Duscur, the Alliance's relationship with Alymra had been strained in fear of a similar tragedy happening to them, which meant crossing the border was going to be incredibly difficult.

Byleth was not going to budge and had even threaten to take Salu to the border by herself and there was no way in hell that he was going to allow her out of his sights, again. Despite his better judgement, Jeralt had agreed to escort the boy, under the disguise of seeking work in Alliance's territory. Just before the mercenary company could leave Remire Village, they had received an urgent request for protection from a small village in the Kingdom's territory.

The letter had been read out loud by Jeralt's second in command and the leader pressed his lips tightly together and closed his eyes. He knew the Kingdom was in chaos and such request were common and he really wanted to answer them but Byleth wasn't allowed in Kingdom territory. The Regent had made it perfectly clear to the father that if she was discovered in the Kingdom's lands then House Blaiddyd would not protect her and would give into the nobles' demands, no matter what they might be. Gritting his teeth, Jeralt remained quiet while the company waited for his orders.

"Please, help the Kingdom," Byleth said and his eyes snapped open to look at her. "I will take Salu to the borders by myself."

"Absolutely not," he said through his teeth.

"Please." His eyes widen at the sight of her eyes becoming misty. It was the first time he had seen an emotion from her in nearly two years. "Please. I-I can't help Aster, but you can. I know he must be torn at all of the chaos in the Kingdom. Please, help them."

Her pleas stabbed at his heart. To hear such emotions again was a great joy but her request was too much. He couldn't just leave her alone, not after nearly losing her.

"Those people…," he started and clenched his fists at the memory of the dagger being ripped from his daughter's chest. "Those people will attack you again." They had tried several other times to attack her in the past two years, he couldn't risk leaving her alone.

"I can defend myself." He scowled at that. Yes, she had become must stronger in the last two years, and no one else in his company besides him could challenge her, but she also had become incredibly reckless. She also wasn't even taking into account how difficult it would be to protect someone as well as defend herself.

"It's…it's to dangerous." She frowned at that. "At least to go alone." She pressed her lips together. "I will go with you." He ignored all the gasps and protest as he walked over to her and she simply shook her head.

"The company will need you. Besides, we don't know how hectic the Kingdom is in. Not having you would be foolish." He continued to ignore the other voices that agreed with her.

"Byleth, I am not allowing you to travel alone. I can't…" his voice dropped to a low whisper and he looked at the floor before them, "I can't lose you."

"You won't. I will come back to you, I promise." She rubbed his arms as a way to coax him to look at her. He looked into her eyes and there was a small fire in them; a fire that he had feared was long since extinguished.

With Muharib gone, he had no one else in his company that he could trust to leave Byleth with. He didn't want to let her go alone but didn't want to be the one to snuff out the newly rekindled fire in her. Gritting his teeth, he pulled her in for a bear hug.

"You are to follow the paths with the most towns. Those vile people always send a manageable number of people to deal with, when you are in a village." She nodded against his chest. "If they attack while traveling you are to run away, do you hear me? There is no shame in retreating." She nodded.

He then proceeded to go over basic travel and survival tips, everything she was already well informed on, but she never interrupted him. Satisfied that he shared all the important information he finally let her go but still kept his arms on her shoulders. Lady Patricia had once told him that he needed to see Byleth for the young woman she was becoming but that was just too hard. He wished she could just stop growing up and remain his little girl.

"You are not allowed to go into Almyra, alright? You can go as far as to the border but after that Salu will have to be on his own." He did like phrasing it like that and he was happy that he could tell that she wasn't pleased with that phrasing as well; but he had to say it as he knew she would be tempted to continue traveling with Salu until he found his family. He narrowed his eyes and increased his grip on her until she nodded, and he let her go.

"After you escorted him, head over to Derdriu and wait for use there." She nodded and he sighed. He threw his arms around her in another tight hug before he allowed her and Salu to depart. Once, she was at the door, he spoke up again, "Oh kid," he wanted until she looked at him, "no other boys, do you hear me?" She tilted her head at him but eventually nodded. "I mean it. No. Boys."

**Lone Moon 1178: (warning there is some harsh language in this month.)**

Byleth may have confidently declared to her father that she would take Salu to the Almyra border alone, but she didn't take into consideration just how difficult it would be to just decide on which path to take. The quickest and most likely easiest path to take would be to go through Garreg Mach Monastery but that wasn't a possibility to consider. He father had made that place forbidden and though she might have gotten used to churches that was still the one place that she was banned from ever going. Her father's fear of that place had been so intense that she had no intentions of ever laying her eyes on that place.

The next option was to go around the mountain range and travel through the Empire. That path would be by far the longest and possibly the most dangerous. To follow that path would mean she would have to travel through Lord Arundel's territory, and she did not want to do that alone; she didn't even want to do that with her father and mercenary company by her side. She could always go around the territory but that would just add at least another month to her travels, and she wasn't comfortable with staying that long in the Empire, alone.

The final path and the one that she decided on was to cut through the Kingdom's territory. It was an incredibly risky path for not just her but her companion, Salu, as well. She didn't know what would happen to her if she was discovered but she had several ideas of what would happen to Salu if he was found; killed or possible sold into some kind of slavery. During the month that they had to travel through the Kingdom, she made sure that Salu had kept himself covered at all times and avoided towns unless they were absolutely necessary.

Traveling through the Kingdom had been easy and uneventful as they had hugged the mountain range that Garreg Mach was in as there would be less people to worry about. It was going perfectly and in just a few days they would finally be in Alliance territory and would be able to breath easy there. She had tried to not think about it but it was painful to travel through the Kingdom and not be able to reach out to her friends, especially when she was passing through the Galatea's territory; she kept thinking about Ingrid and if her friend had managed to get over the death of Glenn because she couldn't.

With such uneventful travels, she had started to teach Salu some Fodlanese. She didn't know if it was cruel to teach him the language of the people that ostracized his people, but they did need to better communicate with each other. She had thought about teaching him some Almyrian but when she thought about it, all she really knew were curse words. Thinking about Almyra couldn't help but bring up memories of Muharib and it was painful; she hoped once she was out of the Kingdom the pain would stop or at least she would go back to being numb about it.

The Alliance's border was nearly in sight and traveling through the Kingdom was going to end off as uneventful, until one night when the peace came to an end. A few men had circle on their little camp and she immediately stood protectively in front of Salu. When the leader of the men, came out of the shadows, her eyes widen at the familiar sight.

"I certainly wasn't ever expecting to see you again," the leader with such a familiar red hair and glare said, and her eyes narrowed on him. "How far the royal family's whore has fallen."

"Miklan," she said his name plainly as she reached for her sword that had been lying next to her. "What are you doing here and with these men?" She only allowed herself a quick glance at the two men to the sides of her. "Aren't you a little far from Gautier's lands?"

"Everything had been going well that little shit that I had to call a brother," she gripped her sword, "was growing weak and afraid. I would have been able to get rid of him, if my shit father never saw how much better I am." She said nothing and glared at him.

"But then you came along and ruined everything! He started gaining confidence and would even stand up to me and once again I had lost everything. And it was all because of you!" She remained silent.

"But you can make it up to me. That Duscurian brat will fetch a pretty gold coin but you, you are the real prize." She continued to say nothing as she blocked Salu from Miklan's sights. "I wonder what kind of price I will get for presenting you?" Her stare remained even, and he sneered at her for that.

"Of course, I am a kind man." She wanted to say several things to that but chose to remain silent instead. "If you can please me. Show me how a whore like you was able to remain in the royal family's good graces then I might let you stay with me."

Byleth continued to say nothing. Never taking her eyes off of Miklan, she unsheathed her dagger and handed it to Salu. Salu had been hesitant to take the dagger and so she awkwardly patted him on the head, while her eyes were still glued to the threat.

Miklan took a step forward and she maneuvered her sheath so that it would be easier to remove her sword when needed. She also maneuvered her other hand behind her back to hide it from the bandits' leader's sight as she channeled energy into it. He arched an eyebrow at her and two of the other men chose to close the distance a little more. It was her turn to take a step forward so that it would be easier to reach if needed.

"We can do this the easy way," Miklan paused to smirk, "or my favorite way, the hard way."

"Hard way!" She shouted as she blasted a fire ball behind her to attack the man closest to Salu. The man cried out in agony as he rolled around on the ground in a desperate attempt to put out the magical flames.

When a warlock joined the Jeralt Mercenaries last year, Byleth finally had an instructor to teach her offensive spells. She had taken to magic just as quickly as she took to any martial weapons. The warlock had only stayed in the company for a few months but in that short time Byleth was able to master the spells Fire and Noseferatu and was on her way to mastering Thunder as well.

Curses were slung at her as the two remaining men charged her, while Miklan stood back watching. Her sword was removed from its confines just in time to block the first strike and she had to sidestep the other one. She danced around the men with ease and slowly drew them away from Salu, without either one of them realizing her intentions, however Miklan did.

She watched in horror as Miklan rushed forward with his lance drawn. Her tactics had been quickly used against her as she had separated herself to far from Salu to be able to reach him in time, even if she didn't have to deal with two other bandits. She shouted for Salu to run but he was petrified in place.

Just short of being in striking distance did Miklan fell a large portion of his energy being drained. He stopped to glance back at her and smirked. She might have managed to kill off one of his men, but she allowed her side to be pierced in order to cast that spell and she was no where close to stopping him.

His smirk grew and he took satisfying slow steps towards the Duscurian boy. He raised his lance high; he had planned to sell the boy but the satisfaction of killing him before the bitch's eyes was far to good to pass up. Laughter ripped through him right when he was about to plunge his lance, but his instincts halted him and forced him to step back, just in time to narrowly avoid a bolt of lightning. Growling, he ripped his eyes away from the boy to see her and his last man rushing towards him and he had to admit that even he was impressed, to see her run with that wound.

Miklan swung his lance wide when she reached him and she would have parried it with ease but with her wound she ended up struggling against him. Thanks to Dimitri she had plenty of experience of combatting lance users and because of Sylvain she was familiar with the Gautier's lance style so her little skirmish with Miklan would have been over quickly, if it wasn't for the other bandit.

Neither of the men would have been a challenge on their own but together they proved to be a frustratingly difficult. The pain in her side made it difficult to concentrate so she was unable to cast spells. She was forced to play defensively but knew that it would only be a matter of time before she gave in.

She gave in sooner than she was expecting and with a sick satisfaction Miklan drove his lance through her upper left arm, but she did not cry out. It took all of her focus to block the second attack from the other man, who had tried to jam his sword into her abdomen. A small gasp escaped her when Miklan pulled out his lance and both men were ready to strike again.

The bandit cried out when a dagger was plunged into his back by Salu, who looked on horrified. In a fierce rage the bandit tried to retaliate but Byleth had intervened with a powerful blow to the back of his head with the hilt of her sword and he collapsed onto the ground. She gave Salu a small nod before positioning herself between him and Miklan.

"Stand down," the mercenary ordered, "your men are down. You don't stand a chance anymore."

The bandit leader broke out into a deranged laughter before giving her an intense glare. "You sure do talk highly for someone who's struggling to stand." He gripped his lance and sneered at her. "Your confidence really pisses me off. You act like you are something grand, when you are nothing more than trash!"

With a large cry he thrusted his lance forward and using the flat side of her sword she redirected the attack to left, avoiding her and Salu. He yelled out another battle cry and slammed the lance downward to which she sidestepped with ease. She had always believed that to be a foolish and reckless move and she couldn't understand why Sylvain used it, until she saw a picture of the Lance of Ruin and understood why. To a normal lance it was an idiotic move but if the Hero Relic was used instead, then it could prove to be a devastating move. But Miklan didn't have the Lance of Ruin and so that move was foolish as it allowed her to close the little distance and jab her sword's hilt into his stomach, forcing him to stumble back.

"I was born a noble! I am better than you! Better than that shit garbage that took everything away from me and all because he was born with a crest!" He roared out at the top of his lungs. He thrusted his lance forward wildly again and again and he created distance as well as preventing her from counteracting.

His assault had pushed her back to where Salu stood and she planted her feet firmly on the ground to brace herself. She blocked each strike until one of his rush attacks was low and she slammed her sword down on it weakening his grip and then she slammed her foot down on the lance and it slipped through his fingers. Expecting that to be the end of the fight, she ended up overacting a little when he lunged for her and she slashed upwards and sliced across his face, while her crest activated at the same time.

Screaming out, he collapsed onto his back and shielded his face with his hands. She only spared him a small glance before checking on Salu. Satisfied that Salu was okay, she retrieved her dagger as well as began to pack up her stuff.

"You bitch!" Miklan cried out and was still on the ground with his hands covering his face. "You have a crest!"

"Yes," she simply said as she walked over to him. She pulled his hands away and shoved hers into his face.

He shut his eyes expecting a knockout blow that never came. His eyes snapped open when he felt the comforting feeling of healing magic. Gripping her wrist tightly, he tossed her hand aside.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Healing you." He glared at her and she backed off. "I know Poppy, would have asked me to do so." He scoffed at her and looked away.

When she got the signal from Salu that all their stuff was packed, she slashed across one of Miklan's legs; it was a shallow cut. "Sorry, I don't like hitting someone when they are down." He gave her a weak glare. "But I have to see to it that you don't follow us."

With that done, she ordered for Salu to follow and they took off. They weren't able to get very far before her adrenaline dried up and her wounds got the better of her. Her world soon went dark.

* * *

Slowly, she awoke and stared up at a ceiling she did not recognize and once that fact registered, she sat up in an alarm, only for her wounds to cry out. Salu was quick to lay her back down and his presence comforted her enough for her to recognize that they were hidden away in a cave. Her wounds had been expertly treated and a strong scent of a medicine she didn't recognized filled the air.

When Salu was sure that she wouldn't try to get up again he went back to what he was doing earlier, and she watched him. He was grinding some herbs against the floor and she vaguely wondered how much more difficult that task had to be without a mortar. He had all their utensils spewed about in a nice and order fashion and each seemed to be filled with different kinds of herbs, and he would barely glance at them before taking what he needed and tossed them in a little pile to grind.

Noticing her gaze, he stopped to look at her. "I…," he furrowed his brows, "you…" he furrowed his brows even more and tilted his head a little, "okay…?" He ended his little sentence with a frown. He might not have known the words to articulate what he was doing but she understood enough.

She nodded, "I okay." He beamed at her and went about fetching some water for her. The water was full of herbs and she was a bit reluctant to drink it but at his instance she did, and her face scrunched up at the taste.

"Bad…" Unaware of the word to use he just opened his mouth and pointed at his tongue.

She nodded. "Taste," she said, and he nodded in return.

"Bad…tas..te…" He said the new word slowly and looked to her for confirmation to which she nodded. "It helps! Bad taste is good!"

She had her doubts. How could something so bitter be good? She didn't say anything as she had no real way to communicate it, but she did drink it all, at least.

Seemingly satisfied, Salu went back to doing whatever he was doing. She glanced back at their bags that were leaning against the cave walls behind him. She had packed a few vulneraries and she had made sure that he was aware of them, but she didn't feel the tingling, numbness from the salve. Muharib had explained it to her once that in Almyra they didn't have such magical healing items and she wondered if that was the same for Duscur and if Salu even knew what a vulnerary was. She wanted to use the vulneraries as they would speed up hear healing process enough to allow her to get to a town for help but seeing the first, real smile from Salu she decided that she would do it his way.

**Great Tree Moon 1178:**

Traveling through the Leicester Alliance was easy and uneventful and neither of the travelers complained to that. Byleth's unplanned wounds had slowed them down by a week, much to her annoyance but at least Miklan had never caught up to them, if he was pursing them. Salu's treatment had been the main reason as to why her recovery had been slow. His work actually healed her wounds better than if she did use a vulnerary as there was little lingering pain and her scars were much more minimal but it was far to slow for her liking and once she was able to walk without to much trouble they headed for a town, so that she could receive treatment from a priest. Under less stressful times, she would have preferred his treatment, but it was a truly frustrating thing when she was in a rush.

Just a few days before the end of the Great Tree Moon, they had arrived at the Almyra border as well as a problem. The only known route to cross the border was to go through Fodlan's Locket but in order to pass through it, travelers had to present papers, papers that neither one of them possessed. Trying to secure the needed papers in Derdriu would be risky. She never had any real interest in politics but from the few lessons she had to attend with Dimitri, she learned enough to know that it would be idiotic for the Alliance to help fleeing Duscurians if they wanted to maintain a positive relationship with the Kingdom.

They had spent a few days walking along the mountain range on the border, hoping to find a path. Salu had been close to giving up, when they heard a cry. The source of the cry had been a tanned skin boy, with curly black hair dressed in colorful clothes; he had been cornered by a Giant Bird.

She briefly watched him shout an Almyrian curse as he shot an arrow at the great, winged beast. The arrow pierced the monster's chest and it roared out right before it slammed its beak down on the boy but narrowly missed as she had tackled the boy out of the way. He stared up at her with wide eyes but was given no chance to even voice his surprise before she rushed for the beast. Unsheathing her sword, she positioned herself to face a difficult opponent.

Fighting monsters were already difficult to fight with in a company of warriors and to fight one by oneself was nearly impossibly; even her father would struggle against a Giant Wolf alone. For her to fight a monster alone that was out of her reach was almost a laughable idea.

Just as she expected fighting the Giant Bird was going horribly as all she could really do was at least keep its attention on her. It continued to remain out of her swords reach and whenever she cast fire it was quick to blow out the flames with a powerful gust. She was sure that the beast was just mocking her with just how low it stayed to the ground and would only do the gust when she casted the spell. Without any knowledge of wind magic or a ranged martial weapon in her possession she had been half tempted to throw her sword at it and hope for the best.

When her third fire ball had been extinguished, she was at a complete loss, until an arrow pierced the creature's left wing and it cried out. Swiftly she spun around and noticed that the boy was the one to fire it. Their eyes locked and he gave her a small nod and she returned it with one of her own.

"Fire at the wing!" She shouted as she went about to try and gain the beast's attention. She had no idea if the boy spoke Fodlanese or not, but she hoped that he would understand the order with her gesture. He did not disappoint, as he launched three more arrows into the creature's left wing; though they were not as centered as she would have liked but it did at least succeed in slowing down the monster.

The spell, Thunder, was just out of her reach of mastery and such she was uable to cast it as fast enough as she could with fire and because of the speed of the monster she had avoided wasting energy with casting it and missing or leaving herself vulnerable for a moment, but now that the monster was slower she had a chance. She focused her attack onto the arrows hopping that the metal tip might amplify the magic's power or at the very least guarantee a hit as acting as a lure. It went better than she planned as her magic jumped between all the arrows, spreading the damage as well as lighting the arrows on fire. The Giant Bird cried out and began to retreat and everyone released a collective sigh of relief.

With the battle, finally over she made her way over to the boy. He looked at her briefly before bowing. When she assured him that such a gesture wasn't necessary, he stood straight and watched her carefully.

Finally, up close to him without a threat of an attack, she was able to notice his eyes and she took a deep breath. She didn't think it was possible for anyone's eyes to rival the beauty of Dimitri's but there she was looking a brilliant shade of green eyes. Dimitri's eyes used to be calm and relaxing shade of blue but this boy's were an energetic green and both were so appealing to her.

Thinking of Dimitri reinvigorated the ache in her chest that had once numbed away. The ache did cause her to realize that she was staring, and she was amazed to see that he once never looked away and instead matched her stare. He was the first to do such a thing and it sparked her curiosity of him more.

"Than-" the boy started but quickly stopped to lightly cough into his hands, "thank you for helping me." When he had spoken again his accent changed, it was like he was trying to imitate a native Fodlan speaker.

"Your welcome," Byleth said and chose to ignore his accent. Salu quickly ran to her side and began to fret about over her wounds that she had tried to assure him that they were healed a month ago, when she stopped at a church.

Not moving from his spot, the boy, stood there watching her and she noticed that he had a cut on his cheek. Wordlessly, she walked over to him and placed a hand on his injured face, and he flinched away from her touch. Nervously, he watched her reach out to him again but more slowly that time and he allowed her to place a hand on his cheek; she healed the cut, without ever saying anything.

His hands flew to his cheek for a second before he pulled his hand away to inspect the lack of blood on his fingers. His wide eyes flew to hers. "Do you have any other injuries?" Slowly he pulled up his tunic and she could see the formation of a nasty bruise and briefly she wondered how the monster could have inflected such injury without cutting him in the process. Gently, she placed her hand on his stomach and waited for his reaction and he did nothing besides watching her and so she healed his stomach. His eyes widen again as he tentatively patted his stomach.

"Any more?"

"No, I am fine. Thank you." She noticed that in his surprise that he forgot to try and hide his accent. His eyes drifted back to his stomach and he mumbled so quietly that she would have missed it if it wasn't for her good hearing, "So, that is Faith magic?"

She remained quiet for a bit before her curiosity got the better of her. "What is an Almyrian doing on this side of the border?" His eyes snapped back to her and the surprise that was once in them were replaced with fear.

"I-I am not Almyrian," he stuttered and tried to mask his accent again.

"First," she held up one finger, "you have an accent."

"I do not have an accent," he mumbled and in doing so revealed his accent more.

"Second," she held up two fingers, "your clothes are far to bright for typical Fodlan style."

He stretched out his out his bright, yellow tunic to look at it better. "But this was the dimmest outfit I could find." If that was dim, she wanted to see what his other clothes looked like.

"And lastly," she held up a third finger and his eyes flew back to her, "I heard you shout an Almyrian curse."

"I did not."

"Alqarf," she repeated, and she didn't know it was possible for his eyes to widen even more.

His shock soon gave away to a glare and he backed away from her. She noticed his grip on his bow increased and his other hand's fingers were twitching over his arrows. Without saying anything she sheathed her sword and watched his confusion return.

"Relax," she said but he didn't, "I don't care if you are Almyrian." His eyes narrowed. "I just want to know how you crossed the border." He said nothing so she beckoned for Salu to come to her side.

She positioned Salu to stand between the two and removed his hood. The Almyrian looked at the two people before him and said nothing. Salu's fingers twitched, holding his hood but she calmed him down some by patting his head.

"I want to help Salu cross the border, but we can't get passed Fodlan's Locket." He continued to say nothing and just watched them. Sighing she allowed Salu to cover his head again.

Byleth looked back at the older boy, who matched her stare. She didn't know anything about him, but she at least could tell that he was in Fodlan with a mission. Motioning for Salu to step aside, she stood before the Almyrain.

"I will make you a deal," she started, and she noticed that he arched an eyebrow. "If you tell us how you crossed the border, I will help you with whatever your goal in Fodlan is."

He said nothing for a bit as he watched her carefully. "And what if I say my quest is to kill the Leicester Alliance's leader?" Now it was her turn to watch him carefully.

"No, it's no." His eyes widen just a tiny bit, but his expression remained serious. "You would make a terrible assassin."

"Oh," he couldn't help but voice his surprise, "and why is that?"

"You don't have much skill with a that bow of yours to be one."

"What if my talents lied elsewhere?" He leaned in slightly towards her and arched an eyebrow.

"Perhaps, but your nature would prevent you from doing such a thing." He stood straight and narrowed his eyes.

"And what if it is all an act?" It was her turn to lean towards him and their eyes locked, and he couldn't look away.

"You can't full me. You've never killed anyone."

They stared at each other for a bit before he threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, I will make this deal with you."

The Almyrain silently lead them over to a small section of a mountain that was covered in some ivy. He pulled the ivy away to reveal a small cave, he gestured towards it and she hesitantly stepped in. She was sure once the vines covered the entrance it would be pitched black inside and she didn't feel to comfortable with having Salu travel alone in there, but she also had a feeling that there was, no other options.

After exploring further into the cave for a few more minutes she had discovered that there were no animals living in it (or at least in the areas she could see) and she returned to the entrance. She looked at the Almyrian who just gestured that that was it. Pressing her lips together she looked at Salu, who had been staring at the cave.

"Does this cave lead all the way to Almyra?" she asked and the Almyrian nodded.

"I just took this cave to get here, yesterday," he answered back. "I will admit it is not the most easiest of paths to take but you said your options were limited, so…"

"How did you know about it?" He said nothing but gave her a wary smile. It didn't sit well with her, but she didn't get the feeling that he was lying to her at least. Sighing, she dug into her bag and pulled out the two torches that she had packed in it. "How long did it take you to cross it?"

"Three days, I think. I must admit, it was hard to keep track of time in there."

She pressed her lips tightly together as she walked over to Salu, who only then looked at her. Taking his bag, she added her torches as well as the little food supply she had in hers; she could make do with hunting until she arrived at a town. Salu did not take his bag back, when she handed it to him.

"Salu, you go." She pointed to the ivy and he shook his head vigorously. "Almyra over there."

"No!" He shouted and squeezed her in a tight bear hug. "I no go alone. You come with!"

It was a bit of a struggle for her to pull one of her hands free and patted the top of his head. "I stay." He squeezed her tighter and buried his face into her chest.

"I want you come with!"

"I can not go. I stay." Despite her light coaxing he refused to let her go. "Your family is waiting." She had no proof that they were in Almyra but she hopped that they were and that he would find them soon.

Salu didn't say anything and didn't budge. "Salu, you are strong. You will be okay. No need me." He stiffened at the last part.

He pulled his face away to look up at her. "I need Byleth! Byleth come, please!" She shook her head and he looked away. "Come…please…"

Briefly she glanced at the Almyrian teen, who was looking everywhere but at them. Her attention slowly drifted back to Salu and she continued to pat his head. "I can not. My father here. I stay." Gritting his teeth, he finally let her go as well as took a few steps back. He couldn't bring himself to look at her and chose to stare at the ground.

It was quiet except for the few chocked back sobs that were coming from Salu. Clenching his fists, he looked up at her and she was able to see the tears that he was refusing to let fall. Taking a deep breath, he stood straight and looked her in the eye.

"I go." She nodded and his frown deepened. "But I want see Byleth again. I see you again?"

"Yes, I will see you again." She did know how she would do it, but she swore to herself that she would do so one day. Her father had been reluctant to leave Fodlan but she was sure that someday she could convince him to let her leave and she would go look for Salu then.

He tackled her again in a tight embrace before taking his things and walking into the cave. Yes, she was sure that they would see each other again so she didn't say goodbye.

* * *

Head cannon notes:

I imagined the people of Duscur to be like the Native American tribes in Northern Canada, like the Inuit. I couldn't find a way to translate words from Native American tribes so I decided to make up a few words for a language that I will probably not be adding to much too because holy cow will that be a lot of work.

Fodlan is a land rich in magic and so items like vulneraries and concoctions are mostly made with medicine but a have a bit of magic infused into them to help speed up the healing process. Because they are crude healing items, they don't offer that much in healing scars or dulling the pain. Their focus is usually just to speed up the healing process so that the person can move on faster.

Duscur and Almyra don't have that much magic and so they rely on it a lot less than Fodlan and so they tend to use herbs and medicine to heal wounds. It is slower but is much more effective at treating wounds and dealing with pain. Because of the lack of reliance on medicine, both Duscur and Almyra have better doctors and are better able to handle plagues better.


	13. Chapter 13

So, when I uploaded the last chapter, I didn't realize that I had uploaded so close to the new year, so I just had to update a new chapter before the year ended/started. So, I spent the last days, rushing to finish this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it.

And Happy New Year!

* * *

Age:

Byleth: 17

Claude: 14 going on 15

* * *

**Harpstring Moon 1178:**

**Third of the Harpstring Moon:**

Claude, that was the only name that the Alymra teen would tell her and she knew that it wasn't his real name, but she didn't press it. In exchange for him telling Salu how to cross the border, Claude requested for a guide that would take him to Derdriu, which was easy enough for her. She didn't know what his goal was and why he snuck into Fodlan but she could tell that he wanted to keep his Almyra heritage a secret, and so she would play dumb when he tried to act like a "Fodlan" person.

Claude loved to talk, and it didn't really matter or not if she really contributed as he would just continue to carry on the conversation; she was impressed. She and Salu had mostly traveled in silence, thanks to the language barrier but she also got the feeling that Salu wasn't want much for conversation and she couldn't blame him after everything he went through. She did not realize that she would miss the sound of conversation so much until she started traveling with Claude.

Claude's cheerful disposition had also been a breath of fresh air compared to her gloom for the past two years. While he was always a constant smile, she was able to discern quickly that none of his smiles were genuine. She had found that to be a shame because she was sure if he had a more genuine smile, he would be quite handsome. She was unable to tell if his cheerful disposition was all an act or not but if it was, she hoped that he would soon become comfortable enough around her to drop it, even if she liked it.

The Almyrain's goals were a complete mystery to her and though her curiosity was great she never perused it. She might not have been able to explain why but she was drawn to him; despite that she was determined to at least maintain a proper employer-employee relationship and as such she would not ask about anything unless he brought it up. That didn't mean she couldn't at least make guesses, though she felt like she was always off unless she had some kind of clue to back her up.

The mystery that held her greatest interest on that day was his bowmenship. It was clear to her that he was trained to use another weapon, instead, but the only thing he had brought with him was a bow and a few arrows. She could tell that he was relatively new to using the bow too, based off his stance and hand positioning but he did have at least have a talent for it.

After a few minutes of watching him practice she made her way over to him. Resting a hand on her hip, she watched with some amusement at him struggling to maintain focus, when she was so close. When his arrow went off target, she decided to intervene.

"Your legs are too far apart," she said and watched as he twitched a little at her sudden voice. Maintain his focused expression he looked down at his legs and brought them closer and then he looked at her for confirmation to which she nodded. He fired another arrow and it hit the tree, he was aiming for, but his arms positioning still needed correcting but his little, silent cheer, stopped her from correcting him right away.

"What's your weapon of choice?" His body stiffened briefly before quickly dropping to a casual stance.

"Why a bow of course," he answered back as nonchalantly as he could and even placed his hands on the back of his head as he leaned a little. He gave her a little smile and she maintained her deadpan expression.

"Your stance says otherwise." He stiffened again for just a moment but maintain his smile and eye contact. Tilting her head to the side, she rested it on her knuckles as she looked him over. It was clear to her that he didn't use a bow, but she wasn't familiar enough with Almyra's fighting styles to figure out what weapons he used based off of his stances. Muharib popped into her mind and she looked at the boy before here.

"Axes?" He perked up slightly at that and so she returned to a more neutral position before continuing, "I knew an Almyrian that preferred axes. Is that a weapon of choice in Almyra?"

"You knew an Almyrian?" She didn't know if he was trying to deflect the question or was just generally curious, regardless, she nodded, and his little smile grew. "Are they common in Fodlan?"

She pressed her lips together as she tried to recall every Almyrian she had ever meet, which was a very small amount. "In the Alliance you can see some Almyrian merchants from time to time, but I can't say, I've seen one in the Kingdom or the Empire." His eyes shinned with that information.

"So," she paused so that she could lean on to her left side, "why are you using a bow?" He flinched slightly at her question.

"I heard that the Alliance military excels at bows and I thought I would fit in better if I used one."

She tilted her head. Sure, the Alliance's military had the best marksmen in Fodlan but that was only because of the elite knights from House Riegan and may be a select section of Goneril's knights. It didn't seem like a good enough reason to her to use a weapon one wasn't familiar with, especially when traveling into new territory alone. She had a feeling if she pressed for answers, he would just avoid the question as he had already done numerous times since the few days, she's met him.

"Would you like me to teach you how to properly use a bow?" His green eyes sparkled at the news.

"You do not mind?"

She shrugged her shoulders. She felt like she owed him a bit more than just traveling with him. "It will help kill time during camp and for some reason I want to see you succeed." His cheeks redden as he looked away and mumbled a thanks. Patting his head for a second, she went about to retrieve his arrows. Some of his arrows were beyond dull and she had no idea how he managed to pierce anything. The first lesson was an easy lesson to decide on.

"Before we start any practice you need to learn how to maintain your arrows." He pouted at that.

**Seventh of the Harpstring Moon:**

During camp a portion of their time had been dedicated to bow practice, but that night Claude had been lost in thought. She could tell that something had been on his mind for that day as she noticed that he had been trying to match her speech patterns more. She figured that he wanted to get rid of his accent or at least mask it better, but her speech patterns were not the way to go. Based on the fact that he was fluent in Fodlanese, she had concluded that he was of high birth in Almyra, or at the very least someone from a rich family, so her shorten words would not work for him but she really didn't want to change her speech patterns; she was done with etiquette classes.

"Claude," she called, and he hummed as he took a bit of food from the other side of their little campfire. "I don't think I should be your example for learning how to sound more like a Fodlan person." He arched an eyebrow. "Nobles like to have draw out words and I hate talking like that."

"So? Why should I not copy you?" he asked once he swallowed his bit of food.

"Because it is not 'proper' speech." She made air quotes, when she said the word proper.

"And why should I bother with 'proper' speech?" He copied her actions with the word proper, but his actions weren't as confident.

"Because nobles don't like the way I talk, and I am sure it will only hurt whatever your goal is." With a stern expression he watched her for a bit before sighing.

"But I do not care about acting like a noble and the like." He leaned back to look up at the sky and took another bite.

"That is true. You certainly don't act like any noble I have ever met." He glanced at her for a second before sitting properly.

After finishing the last bite of his dinner, he really looked at her. "So," he started as he leaned onto his knees, "what gave it away this time?" She could not help but feel a little proud at uncovering one of his secrets.

"I will admit that I don't know many Almyrians but I can't expect that many of them are fluent in Fodlanese, can I?" His eyes widen briefly before shutting them with a sigh.

The sat in silence for a bit, which allowed her to finish off her portion of that day's hunt. With a sudden snap of his eyes he opened them, and he was watching her. Swallowing the final bite, she matched his gaze and didn't say anything.

"What kind of noble are you?" he finally asked. Speechless all she could do was stare at him. He got up and walked over to her and she still couldn't think of a thing to say even though he was standing right in front of her. He sat down and rested his hands on his knees as he leaned forward until he was just a few inches away from her and grinned. "Are you a runway? A noble from a fallen house? A noble on some kind of journey or trial? What kind are you?"

She blinked a few times before finally finding her voice and being able to ask a question, "And what makes you think I'm a noble?" Though she had grown to despise nobles, she couldn't help but feel a little happy to be mistaken for one because maybe, just maybe, she did belong in Dimitri's world.

He sat straight and looked at her. He grinned at her as he held up a finger and started to imitate her. "Your posture," he paused to hold up another finger, "and the way you walk give you away. No, commoner has time to be learning how to walk 'properly'."

It was her turn to widen her eyes. She gave him a small congratulating nod and he beamed at that. She might have been able to break free of the "proper" speech pattern, but the proper posture and walk had been engraved into her and she feared it was something she wouldn't be able to break free from.

"I hate to break it to you, but I am no noble. Just a lowly commoner." He gave her a dubious look. "I will admit that I did receive etiquette lessons fit for a prince." His eyes widen at that interesting piece of information.

"Why?"

She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it. She stared at Claude as she tried to figure out her feelings. She didn't really want to keep any secrets from him but for some reason she also didn't want to share any information about Dimitri to him. Pressing her lips tightly together she turned her sights onto their little fire.

"I think, I will keep that a secret," Byleth said after a few seconds of silence.

"Aw, come on!"

She turned to look at him. "You have your secrets and I will have mine." Huffing out his annoyance, he folded his arms across his chest and turned away.

"Fine, keep your secrets."

She lightly pinched his cheeks and he playfully smacked her hand away. "You don't get to complain about someone keeping secrets." He rolled his eyes.

"Can you at least tell me, if you learned out how to dance or not?"

She recalled Dimitri's twelfth birthday ball and her chest warmed at the pleasant memory. "Yes, I did."

"Can you teach me how to dance please?"

"I hate dancing." While dancing with Dimitri might have been a pleasant memory, the act of dancing was still annoying and practicing even more so.

"Please!" He grabbed her hands. "I am sure, if I knew how to do at least one Fodlan dance it will help me." She struggled to maintain a neutral expression. "You said you would help me with my goal, did you not?" She frowned at him, while he smiled a sly, little smile.

Now on top of bow practice, Byleth would teach Claude how to dance during camp.

Sixteenth of the Harpstring Moon:

The two finally arrived at a village and it was decided that they would get Claude some new clothes so that he could better fit in Fodlan. He walked through the small village with a curiosity that he couldn't contain. His questions and comments were so quick that she couldn't tell if he wanted her to respond or not. Byleth had to force him to stop when they had arrived at the only clothing shop in the village, as it was clear that he had forgot why they were there.

She held up a plain green tunic to him and she could tell that he didn't like it as it couldn't compare to the vibrant clothes that she was sure that he was used too. While eye balling if the tunic would fit him or not an old man ripped the clothing from her hands. The travelers looked at the man that was glaring at Claude.

"I don't serve your kind!" the old man spat.

From the corner of her eye; she saw Claude tense up and looked away. The old man then tried to chase the teen away with overexaggerated arm waves and the teen had to step back. Having enough she stood between the two and glared at the old man.

"What is your problem?" she asked calmly.

"He is! Almyrians are liars and brutes! I will not serve his kind!"

She leaned forward and invaded his personal space. His fight quickly gave out under her intense gaze. She did not let up and narrowed her eyes.

"You are darker than me," she said as he pulled up her sleeve to reveal more of her pale skin. His eyes flickered between her arm and her face. "If darker skin is what make someone a liar and a brute, how do I know I should be doing business with you?"

"What?! I'm a Leicesterian, you fool! Obviously, I can be trusted!"

"I highly doubt that." The man glared at her. "I will sooner put my life in the hands of this Almyrian than I would yours."

Having said her peace, she dragged Claude away from the stall and left the village all together. They still had enough supplies to last them until the next town and there they would buy Claude some new clothes. Claude's curiosity was gone as he allowed her to quietly guide him out of the village. It had been a long time since she had been angry but seeing the once cheerful teen dejected, revived the dormant emotion and she wanted to go back to that old man and yell at him but decided it against it.

"So, it is the same here too?" She heard him quietly mumble. Sighing, she was about to offer him an apology but before she could start, he gave her a wide smile. He had been all smiles ever since they made their deal but none of his smiles were genuine and that smile had been the fakest one of them all. She made no comment to his smile as she just patted his head and began to walk away, and he silently followed.

* * *

They traveled the rest of the day in silence and normally Byleth was a fan of silence but from Claude she hated it; she didn't realize she could like hearing someone talk so much. Shortly through their walk he dropped his smile and she liked that; forcing himself to do something wasn't something she liked seeing. She wished she could comfort him, but she didn't know what to say and she was sure a few head pats wouldn't fix anything.

His silence continued well into the night and it was really bothering her. She had tried starting conversations, but she was terrible at it, she didn't realize how dependent she was on Dimitri for starting most of their conversations. When she started to grill the rabbit, she caught, she had accepted that it would be a quiet night.

"Hey," he randomly said, staring at the fire. She hummed her response as she looked at him from over the blaze. "Are most people in Fodlan like that old man?"

She pressed her lips tightly together and went back to poking the fire. She could hear him sigh and so she sat down next to him, but he didn't look at her. Despite him keeping his thoughts and feeling a secret it was clear that he had some expectations for Fodlan.

"Would it be better if I said I was a Duscurian?" She could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to look at him and turned her sights up towards the sky.

"If you want a quick way to be sold off to the Kingdom to be slaved or killed, go ahead." She could hear him suck in a deep breath. "I will admit, I don't know if the hostilities have always been so great or if has grown in the pass two years because of what happened in Duscur."

She finally looked at him and there was the familiar spark of curiosity in his eyes and she liked that look a lot. "Two years ago," she started, and he leaned ever so slightly closer to her. "Nearly the entire Kingdom's royal family and their company of knights were killed in a brutal attack in Duscur …," she paused to swallow the thick lump that formed in her throat, "and the people of Duscur have received the blame for the attack and have suffered greatly for it."

He sat straight and looked at the fire, while she shut her eyes. Dimitri and Dedue flashed before her mind as well as a sharp pain in her chest; she hoped that they were doing fine. After taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at the sparking flame.

"Ever since then," she started and he looked at her from the corner of his eye, "all of Fodlan has been on alert. I suspect people are expecting a similar incident to happen from Almyra."

"Almyra would never do something so cowardly," he said it so strongly that all she could do was just rub his head before she got up to go get some meant.

"Perhaps, but fear will always make people act irrationally." She handed him a skewer and he stared at her for a few seconds in silence before finally taking the food.

They ate in silence. Their little talk did make her feel better despite bringing up painful memories; silence just didn't fit with Claude, even if she was the one to do most of the talking. She finished her portion relatively quickly while he took his time. She decided that tomorrow she would try to find a pheasant to hunt as she noticed that he enjoyed those.

It wasn't until she was done setting up their bedrolls, that he spoke again, "May I ask, why are you not bothered by other races?" She stopped what she was doing to look at him. Such a thought had never accrued to her before.

She sat down next to him and rested her head on her knuckles as she thought about it. Before she met Muharib she had never met anyone that wasn't Fodlan, or at least she didn't think she did, and besides a comment about his skin tone, she didn't really care that he wasn't Fodlanese; and she didn't really think about it until he would remind her not to repeat his words. Now that he was gone, she wonder if he had faced such open hostility was he was in Fodlan and that thought saddened her.

She looked at Claude, who had been watching her carefully. "I guess it has been something I just never really cared about." His eyes narrowed. "I don't understand why it is so important," she added, when she got the feeling he wanted more, "I mean, we are all just humans right?"

"Exactly!" he shouted in glee. The smile he was sporting had been a true genuine one and she really liked it. He grabbed her hands and got close to her face. "I just knew you would be someone, who would understand!" She wasn't sure what she was supposed to understand but she didn't really care at that moment. His smile was so infectious that for the first time in over two years she smiled her little smile.

**Twenty-Third of the Harpstring Moon:**

It would only be one more week of travel until they arrived in Derdriu. They would have arrived a lot sooner as Fodlan's Locket wasn't that far from the capital, but Claude had quietly expressed that he might not be ready and so Byleth took several detours. Both ended up appreciating in taking in the sights of the Alliance's territory.

The little invisible barrier that had separated the two had started to crumble after the incident with the old man. Claude had always had an interest in her from what she could tell but now it was stronger. He would walk closer to her and would start asking her more personal questions. Before their conversations usually consisted of her telling him more about Fodlan but now his questions were mostly concerned about her; she had chalked it up to him having his fill of learning about Fodlan.

Throwing his hands behind his head, he walked closer to her and gave her a little smile. She gave him a small glance before gesturing for him to ask his question. He never just started asking questions about her, she noticed that he liked to work his way up to them by usually talking about other stuff like the weather and then waiting for her permission.

"What is your favorite food?" he asked, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. Besides asking for her age, he never really asked such simple or specific questions. He usually liked to inquire about her mercenary background and things like that.

She tilted her head to the side, as she briefly thought about his question. "I don't know." He pouted at that. "I'm not a picky eater. I will eat just about anything." His pout remained and so she tried to think about it some more. "I guess I prefer cheesy dishes like Cheesy Verona stew."

It was his turn to tilt his head. "Is that a common Fodlan dish?"

"No, it's only really eaten in the Kingdom. Actually, most cheese dishes are from the Kingdom." The memory of sitting down with Dimitri to eat dinner was a bittersweet one as she longed to return to those days.

"I see." He briefly looked away from her before glancing back at her from the corner of his eye. "Are you from the Kingdom?"

"No…Maybe?" He made a face at her.

"Is the land of your birth another one of your secrets?"

"No, I actually don't know where I was born." He arched an eyebrow at her. "My dad never told me but that's probably because it's a painful memory for him as my mother died giving birth to me." When her father had finally admitted that fact to her, she was afraid that he might resent her for it, but he was quick to put her fear to rest by calling her, her mother's final gift to him.

Claude was silent for a bit. "Surely, you grew up somewhere."

"On the road."

He stopped dead in his tracks, and she took a few steps forward before eventually stopping. "Your father raised you all by himself while still traveling as a mercenary?!" She simply nodded as she didn't see what was so surprising about that. "By, you father is incredible!"

"He sure is!" she said with her little smile.

* * *

When camp was finished being set, Claude was upon Byleth again but wasn't really saying or doing anything. He didn't want to practice his bowmenship, nor did he want to practice dancing (which she was completely okay with), he just sat close to her but didn't really do anything else. She could tell that he wanted to ask her something but when she prompted him to speak, he remained silent.

With him just being idle she decided to ignore him for a bit as she went about getting dinner ready by plucking the two pheasants, they caught earlier. She was pleased to see him help even if he went about doing so in silence. Eventually the silence started to get the better of her and she was wondering if she should just get to speak or not.

After a few more minutes of silence, a heavy sigh from her broke it. She turned to face him and folded her arms over her chest. The two stared at each other but he refused to speak.

"What is it?" she finally asked. "Beating around the bush doesn't suit you."

He arched an eyebrow briefly before looking away with a sigh. "How common are crest in Fodlan?"

She arched an eyebrow as she watched him. As far as she knew crest were limited to only in Fodlan, a blessing from the goddess as it is believed. She couldn't imagine it being common knowledge outside of Fodlan, but giving his background maybe it is something taught to important people? That made sense to her as she was sure leaders in Sreng had to be aware of crest since how important the Lance of Ruin was in battle against them.

She pressed her lips together as she wasn't sure how to answer the question. Her lessons on crest had informed her that less and less crest were being passed down but at the same time she knew a lot of people with crest, granted most of them needed to have crest given their heritage situations. But even she bore a crest, as unusual as it was.

"They are…rare?" She decided to go with that. She might have known an unusual number of crest bearers but the vast majority of people she met didn't have one so that made the rare, she decided. He looked away from her in thought.

"All major noble house holds require their heir to have a crest." He turned his sights back at her and frowned. "Though, it is not unheard of for a commoner to posses a crest." He nodded slightly to that information. "My father possesses a major crest of Serios though he has no ties to the Adrestian Empire's throne."

"If your father has a crest does that mean you have one?" She pressed her lips together. Her crest was supposed to be a secret, she understood that especially after that whole noble incident in 1175, but she didn't want to keep it a secret from Claude. Sure, she had been keeping secrets from him but those all had been things that revolved around Dimitri.

"By?" She locked eyes with him, and she groaned. She couldn't understand why she wanted Claude to like her and so she wanted to share such a secretive information. After a few more seconds of internal struggle she finally admitted to having one and she knew her father was going to be so angry with her.

"Can I see it?" She groaned. "Please!"

Unable to look at him any longer, she looked at the fire. Her fingers fiddled with the bottom of her shirt. Quietly she stole a peak at him and cursed herself for doing so, there was no way she could say no to so such expectant, clear, green eyes and she knew that if he were to discover such a fact that she would be in danger. Sighing, she knew that she was just putting it off the inevitable by stalling, she was eventually going to give in and show it to him as she was sure he would press to see it.

She began to pull up her shirt and stopped once she got a strange overreaction from him. "Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?!" His arms were flaying about with cheeks ablaze.

"Showing you my crest," she said matter-of-factly.

His crazy gestures stopped, and he tried to sit properly but his knees were bouncing. "You need to warn a man before you start pulling up your shirt like that." She made a small face of annoyance before continuing what she was doing. Once she got shy of showing her chest, he started to overreact again. "Where is your crest?!"

"On my chest." He froze and she wondered if she did something wrong. Slowly his entire body broke out into a massive blush and he backed away from her.

"A-are you really going to show me your chest-I mean crest?!"

"You want to see my crest, right?" He gulped loudly and slowly nodded. His fingers dug into his legs as he leaned forward. She had never held so much of his attention so well, even when he was cautious of her.

With one quick motion, she pulled off her shirt. She frowned when she looked down at the breast band she was wearing as she was going to need a new one soon, with how terrible it was for containing her chest. Looking up at Claude, she noticed that he was stiffed and had his legs pressed tightly together. Suddenly she felt bashful under his intense stare, she brought her fingers up to her crest to draw his attention to it and not her chest, though she knew that was impossible with how it dipped under her breast band.

"I-I don't know what my crest is," she said if only to end the silence, but he said nothing. Her fingers that held her shirt twitched, she wanted to put her shirt back on as she had never been so exposed before and his silence was suffocating.

"C-can I put my shirt back on now?" That seemed to snap him out of his daze and he quickly gestured for her to do so. She quickly put her shirt back on and she couldn't meet his gaze.

"Are crest normally so large?" he asked. She was left with feeling some complex emotions, grateful that he wasn't talking about her chest but disappointed at how he seemingly didn't care about seeing it.

"No, my crest is quite unusual." She brushed her fingers over it. "I'm supposed to keep it a secret because it's dangerous and people have attacked me for it."

"Then why did you show it to me?!"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's because I trust you." His eyes widen briefly before he looked away blushing. "And I want you to know that you can trust me too."

After a few seconds, he calmed down some and looked back at her; though a light blush remained. He tired to look her in the eye, but she could tell that he was struggling to do so. Eventually he gave in and looked away.

"Since you shared something so important, it is only fair that I share something with you. I have a crest too." Her eyes widen. Could Almyrians have a crest too?

"Can I see it please." His face turned an even brighter shade of red. He nodded but when he glanced down at his concealed lap, he then started to vigorously shake his head no. After shouting that he would be back, he rushed into the woods, leaving her behind.

It was about five minutes later before Claude returned and she noticed that he couldn't look her in the eye. She tried to hand him his portion of dinner that was starting to get cold, but he didn't take it. He stood in front of her and looked just to the side of her. His hands were balled tightly at the bottom of his tunic.

"D-do you still want to see my crest?" She nodded and he sighed. "Just like yours mine is also in an inappropriate spot, but just not as extreme as yours." His voice began to trail off near the end and his face turned even redder. Gripping the hem of his pants, he paused to look at her, and his face grew even hotter. "C-Could you please stand up?" Not understanding why, she had to stand, she did it anyway, in hopes that it would help calm him down some.

Once she was on her feet, he finally pulled down his trousers and had to pull up a bit of his small clothes to reveal a small, crescent moon on his left thigh. Her eyes widen upon seeing the Crest of Riegan and she smiled. Out of all the crest, Crest Riegan had been her favorite based on the look. With little regard to his discomfort she poked the crest and he jumped back and nearly tripped thanks to his pants being around his ankles.

"By! You cannot casually touch a man's thigh like that?!" The innocent head tilt she gave him, flustered him some more and he ran back into the woods, after pulling up his pants.

Sighing, she put his dinner on the edge of the fire in hopes of warming it up a little as she went back to eating hers. While, she still didn't know what his goal was, she at least now knew it had something to do with House Riegan and their Hero Relic. She might have slowly started to figure out her companion, but he was still a complete mystery to her.

**Garland Moon 1178:**

Finally, they had arrived in Derdriu and Claude's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he took in the city. Forgetting about immediately going to the Riegan Manor, he dragged Byleth all throughout the city. She quickly realized that he hadn't forgot about the manor but was just practicing his Fodlanese some more as well as learning the city's layout. He had taken so long doing everything that night had descended upon them and they were forced to get a hotel room for the night.

The next day, Claude was feeling more confident and they headed straight for the manor. She had no experience with the leaders of the other nations, and she was surprised at just how different the Alliance was. The Kingdom's royal family lived in a great castle and there was no denying that they were the leaders based on their housing alone but the Alliance's leaders might have lived in a massive house but it didn't feel all that different from the other noble houses she had seen. She had to admit she liked the feel of the Riegan Manor more than Castle Blaiddyd.

Getting inside the Riegan Manor was going to be quite the challenge as the guards wouldn't let them pass, even after Claude had announced himself as a potential heir. Despite her having reached that conclusion on her own a few days ago, it still proved to be shocking to hear it. Claude was met with harsh disbelief and he couldn't pull his pants down to show his proof without getting tackled first. When the guards finally threatened them with violence, did they reluctantly leave.

The two sat in silence at a restaurant. He hardly ate any of his food as he was too busy scowling at the outside world from a window. Not letting her money go to waste she started to eat his food.

"What did you expect?" she asked, and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You show up out of nowhere claiming to be Duke Riegan's grandson. It's only naturally that they would think you are lying."

"Whose side are you on?" he grumbled as he pulled back his plate. "If only my crest wasn't in such an inappropriate spot."

"As I told you already, commoners can have a crest as well. You will probably need more than that to prove your legitimacy. "

"Well, what do you suggest?" She pouted at his question. She clearly had no idea what to do. She was no expert on politics, even less so when it came to Alliance's politics. She didn't even know how one would go about proving their bloodline.

"Maybe provide them a gift?" He said nothing and just continued to watch her. "Lord Riegan is the one that will help prove whether or not you're his grandson, right?" He gave her a small nod. "But the guards won't let you see him, unless you can give them a reason to let you see him. So, maybe a gift will be able to do that."

He went back to looking out the window. His fingers drummed against the table as she carefully stole a piece of bread off of his plate. With a heavy sigh, he turned to her and frowned when he saw her stuffing her face.

"A gift is a really good idea, but I am not exactly rich." She noticed that as she had been the one to pay for everything. "So, what am I supposed to offer him?"

"Did you bring any of your mother's belongings?"

"There was no way my mother would have let me take any of her stuff," he mumbled under his breath with a scowl.

Silence settled over them as they now both watched the world from the window. She spent so many years in the company of the kingdom's most important children and she still had no idea what nobles would want. She remembered that Dimitri, Felix, and Glenn liked weapons, but she got the feeling that they were just odd because Sylvain would loudly complain if any of them got him a weapon. It took her a moment, but her eyes widen at the thought.

"Claude," she called, and he hummed. "It's a long shot but maybe you can find a Sacred Weapon and present it as a gift." She now commanded his full attention. "You already know about Hero Relics," his eyes widen, and she gave him a knowing smirk, so he shrugged. "In Fodlan there are also Sacred Weapons they are no where near as powerful as a Hero Relic but are highly valuable, as I hear they can invigorate their wielder and a crest isn't needed to wield them."

He was on the edge of his seat and she found him to be absolutely adorable. "Many Sacred Weapons' locations are known but I do recall that some have been lost to history. If you can find one and present it then surely the Duke will meet you."

Slamming his hands down on the table, he swiftly stood up. "What are we waiting for? We need to go and do research!" She didn't get up and went about trying to finish the rest of Claude's meal, but he wasn't having it and pulled her onto her feet. He flashed her a brilliant smile before dragging her out of the restaurant.

In a matter of minutes, he had dragged her all the way to Derdriu's library, and she sighed heavily. He would have rushed inside with delight, if it wasn't for her reluctances. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he was silently trying to get her to hurry up and enter.

"Claude," she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. He only hummed and gave her an innocent smile. Gesturing wildly to her sword, at her hip, she looked him in the eye. "Take a wild guess as to where my expertise lie."

"Hey, you said you have received an education fit for a prince, right?" Biting her lower lip, she nodded. "So, you know how to read." He smirked.

"Doesn't mean I enjoy it."

"You said you were going to help me with my goal," he practically sang that, and she sighed again.

"I will never make such a broad deal again." He cheered loudly before dragging her inside.

* * *

Two weeks of constant research and Byleth was at her wits end. She had been staring at pages for so long that she didn't even know if she had actually retained any information from the last five books she had read. Once her current ordeal was done, she never wanted to look at another book again.

A book was slammed on her little table and she jumped. She gave Claude a weak glare and if he noticed it, he never showed it as he pointed to a passage in a book like nothing happened. Refusing to look at it, she waited for him to go about explaining it to her.

"This book explains how the Sacred Weapons were created by Saint Macuil," he said with an excitement she could never match. She absentmindedly nodded along as he explained more about Saint Macuil. The name sounded familiar, though she couldn't remember if it was from a book she read or a church seminar that she was forced to listen too.

"This book says he met his end at the Battle of Tailtean." She couldn't figure out why he was sharing so much information about the saint, sure knowing who created the weapons could be interesting but it doesn't help with finding a weapon. "While this book," he placed a new book over the saint book, "talks about how he might have left Fodlan in search of new lands." She fought back an urge to frown as that didn't really help either.

"And this book," he then placed a third and final book into his little plie, "mentions a famous blacksmith that settled in Sreng over a thousand years ago." She had only been half listening until she noticed the smirk on his face.

"Oh no," she finally spoke up. "I'm not going to Sreng."

"Come on! This is probably our best chance to find a Sacred Weapon!"

"You are asking me to leave the country!"

"You said-"

"In Fodlan! Sreng is not in Fodlan!" The two stared at each other.

"By, this might be my best chance." She sighed as she looked away. Traveling to Sreng was far more than she was bargaining for. "You can consider this as a birthday gift to me." She glanced at him and he gave her a little smile. "I turn fifteen next month."

She looked at him briefly before resting her head against the table. A large sigh escaped her as she mumbled, "Don't ever ask me for anything ever again." It was okay, she wasn't going to Almyra; she wasn't breaking her father's rule. Groaning she turned her head away from Claude, her father was going to be so angry if he ever learned of what she did during their time apart.

**Blue Sea Moon 1178:**

Byleth groaned loudly, when she first set foot on Sreng soil. She still couldn't believe she let Claude talk her into going. Not to mention footing the entire bill for both of them, really cut into her funds. Before she left for Sreng she had received a letter from her father and he suspected that he might have to spend another month or two in the Kingdom before they could meet again, which meant she was in a tight spot when it came to money and she would be forced to find a job when they get back. They better find a Sacred Weapon for Claude's sake.

He was his usual boundless curious self as they bounced around the port town, while she had been full of nerves. The only thing she knew about Sreng was that it often went to war with the Kingdom and House Gautier was the main line of defense against them and that was why House Gautier had placed such an importance on their crest. Even though she had only been there for a few hours, she couldn't imagine any of the people as enemies and she was sure Sylvain would feel the same if he was there with her.

Given the hostility with the Kingdom, it came as no surprise to her that Fodlan wasn't held in high regard and neither was she. Over coming a language barrier was already hard enough without the open hostility. When she was denied the opportunity to stay at an inn, Claude had apologized profusely; and though it had annoyed her greatly she was also grateful for the excuse to save some money.

Night had quickly descended on their little camp; it was a full moon that night and it illuminated the desert greatly. The excitement that Claude had an abundance from earlier had vanished after the hotel incident and one might have suspected that he was the one to receive to have such hatred. She had tried to assure him that she was fine, but he had taken it personally. She figured that he must have been used to such situations, given his reaction to the old man two months ago, but the way he had been acting as of late had her second guessing that. After awhile she had given up on trying to comfort him and just enjoy the night.

As she allowed herself to be lulled by the peaceful quiet of the desert's night, she felt a faint call. It had been similar to the one she felt when she met Indech but it wasn't a frantic call. Reluctantly she snapped out her nice little trance and alerted him to her feeling. She had half expected to be met with doubt but instead it was met with his usual curiosity.

Her father would be so angry at her for traveling in the dark in an unfamiliar area, but she, too, had a curiosity that couldn't be sedated less she found out. And with the call being faint that had to be a sign that it wasn't in a dangerous situation. Besides, if the call was coming from Indech she would have liked to meet him again.

It was close to midnight when they arrived at some ruins, and the feeling had been become stronger but was still very weak. There had been ruins, as little as there were, when she discovered Indech but the air around the two places had been the same, or at least she believed it to be as she couldn't really noticed the air last time thanks to the battle. Despite her excitement she had decided to proceed cautiously, just in case the mask people were there as well.

The two decided to hug the small rock wall that surrounded the ruins as they made their way deeper inside. They said very little to each other as the further they went in the more tense they got. She was starting to regret coming along as she just couldn't shake off this cold shiver that ran down her back.

Glancing back at Claude her eyes widen in horror when she saw the knight in white armor, raising it sword to slam it down on the unsuspecting teen. She didn't have time to even think to scream out his name as she grabbed his arm and with all her strength pulled him towards her. Because of the suddenness of everything she didn't have time to brace herself so his weight knocked her to the ground, but it did at least succeed in avoiding the attack.

He tried to voice his complaint, but she silenced him as she shoved his face further into her body as she rolled away from another strike. Having enough he pushed himself off of her and turned white when he saw the knight and she pushed past him to block the third strike. Pushing the knight's sword aside, she slashed the knight across the chest and both Byleth's and Claude's blood ran cold when no blood spilled from the wound and the knight didn't even flinch from the wound.

She was the first to come back to her sense and she grabbed Claude's arm and began to run away. With her mind racing, she desperately to figure out what to do. It was clear that they had to get out of there, but in order to do that they would have to pass that mysterious knight.

As the two them tired to plan their next course of action, she was halted in her tracks when she was blasted by a Fire spell, it did little damage, but it did reveal another enemy dressed in white. Byleth cursed loudly as she pressed both her and Claude against the wall behind them as more and more enemies appeared out of nowhere. With her sword drawn, she stood protectively in front of Claude as she stared down at the horde of enemies.

Heavy footsteps soon added to their dread. A massive, winged beast emerged from the shadows of the ruins. It was nothing like she had ever seen as it nearly towered over everything in that area. It looked down at them and she tried to hide Claude more behind her, even though she knew it was pointless.

"The stench of Sothis," it spoke with a great anger and she froze.

"It talks!?" Claude shouted and the beast slightly shifted its attention towards him.

"I smell those detestable Ten Elites on you…Who are you?"

Claude glanced at her for answers, but she didn't acknowledge him as her focus remained on the great beast. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her sword and took a slight step forward. The monsters matched her action and stepped closer as it raised his head.

"Fine, do not tell me. It matters not as I shall end the both of you here." It lowered its head and blasted her with a powerful ball of energy. It tore at her skin and clothes but thanks to her necklace she was able to avoid the worse of the attack, though she didn't think she would be able to handle another one. Briefly she glanced back at Claude to see if he was okay, and was pleased to see that she had taken the entire hit.

The beast halted its assault to raise it head again and looked down on her. "I just sensed Indech's power."

Struggling to remain standing, she pushed Claude's hands away when he tried to help. Gripping her sword, she looked up that the creature. She forced her body to stop trembling so that she could show a strong front.

"I met a creature named Indech, who gave me some of his power as a thanks for helping him."

For a moment the beast closed its eyes. "I see." It snapped open its eyes after a few seconds. "It matters not if you helped my brother, for I will end you anyways, for I hold no love for you detestable creatures."

It opened its mouth for another attack, and she shut her eyes. She hoped she would be able to take most if not all of the tack and be able to protect Claude from it at least. She prayed that he would be able to find a way to escape from all of this.

Before the attack could hit, she felt herself being pulled away and managed to narrowly avoid the attack. She opened her eyes to see Claude pulling her away from the little area. Briefly he let go of her hand to shoot an arrow at the mage before them and the mage didn't flinch, but it did halt its spell casting long enough for them to pass. His hand quickly grabbed hers and pulled her along again.

"Why are you giving up so easily?!" he shouted as he glanced back at her. "My dreams are far to grand to end here and you said you were going to help me so you cannot die here either!" Byleth's eyes widen and she gave him a firm nod to which he smiled at.

"Good," he said as they stopped their little run. "I have a plan." She nodded and he directed her attention over to a pillar that the beast was standing next too. "It is pretty damaged on this side, if you can provide enough force to it, we might be able to knock it on to the monster." She looked at him and nodded.

"I think I will be able to knock it down, but I will need to get close to it." Smirking he held up his bow as there was no need to explain his part.

Sheathing her sword, she gave him one final nod before rushing forward. She didn't have to focus on any of the strange, white knights that charged at her as she knew an arrow would soon pick them off or at least slow them down long enough for her to slip past them. Once she was close to the pillar, she started challenging a massive amount of energy into her arm.

When she had first started learning Reason magic, she learned that it was incredibly dangerous to cast spells above her current skill level. She had always followed that warning seriously until that moment as none of her current spells were going to be of any use. Once she was at the pillar she placed her hand on it and tried and failed to cast the spell Ragnarok, resulting in a massive explosion that blasted not only her away but also all the surrounding knights, and she also managed to knock the pillar down.

She screamed out in pain, when she hit the ground. Her arm felt like there was a fire, blazing just underneath her skin. Claude was quick to rush at her side, trying to assets what was going on and despite her excruciating pain, she knew that they needed to get out of there and quick.

"By, you are burning up," he nearly shouted as he helped up onto her feet and she cursed under her breath; she couldn't afford to suffer magic exhaustion in a foreign land. Her potential exhaustion wasn't a problem that they had the luxury to focus on at the moment as she ordered him to ignore it and move.

Unfortunately, she was unable to walk thanks to an injury on her leg that she received when she fell. They were moving far to slow for her liking, but at least the explosion had managed to blast away all the strange soldiers and the beast was still struggling to free itself from the rubble. Just as they were about to pass the ruin's entrance, she spotted a strange glowing item at the back of the wall.

She pointed it out and he frowned. "That is not important right now."

"Go get it," the mercenary ordered. She was not about to let her hard work go to waste. Reluctantly, he left her at the entrance to fetch the mysterious item. The cold stone felt wonderful against her heated skin.

"This sword is incredible!" He held up the glowing sword for her to see once he had returned to her, and she could feel a comforting warmth emanating from it. "I feel like I am full of energy while holding it. This must be a Sacred Weapon!"

He immediately thrusted the sword into her hands. Her eyes widen when she felt more energized as well as the burning sensation had soothed a bit. Nodding he wrapped his arms around her again as he helped her walk out of that area.

"How about you hold onto it for a bit?" She nodded. "You earned it after all."

* * *

It wasn't until dawn descended upon them that they finally felt comfortable enough to set up camp for the rest of the day. The sword had been incredible as the pain in Byleth's arm went away after an hour of hold it and it even healed her leg enough for her to walk on her own. Forget Hero Relics, Sacred Weapons were the superior weapons in her opinion.

"Do you want to keep it?" Claude randomly asked and she turned her sights way from the sword so that she could look at him. Despite the closeness they had been sharing, he had chosen to sit away from her. It was true that when she first learned about Sacred Weapons, she wanted to find one for herself, but that wasn't why they came to Sreng for. "We would have died if it was not for you. You deserve it more than I do."

With a bit of effort, she got up and sat down next to him. She had tried to give him the sword, but he refused to take it, so she dropped it on his lap. He didn't touch it and just stared at it.

"It was your plan that saved us," she said and rubbed his head.

"You risked your life to pull it off. The plan would have been useless without you and the incredibly risk you took." She said nothing and he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Besides it was my selfishness that led up to that mess."

She was quiet for a few seconds. "Well, I don't want it." She leaned back to look up at the sky and ignored his gaze. "So, you better take it."

"But-"

"No buts!" He pressed his lips tightly together and she looked back at him. "Consider it as a birthday gift." He opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it when he saw her digging around her pack for something.

She handed him a little leather patch with his name on top and the Crest of Riegan etched below it. He inspected the item a bit before looking up at her. She continued to smile at him and so he went back to looking over the little gift.

"It probably seems a bit childish given my age now and skill level, but I like to give my friends a little leather patch for their birthday." With wide eyes he looked up at her.

"Friends?" he had asked so quietly that she couldn't help but think that maybe she did something wrong.

"Yeah, if you want to be friends. I would like to very much be your friend." He looked away from her and stared down at the little gift. She noticed a single tear drop land against it and she started to panic a little.

"I would like…" his voice began to tremble a little, "to be your friend very much." She smiled at him as she rubbed his head.

They sat in a comfortable silence. He inspected his little gift, while she watched the clouds. Eventually he took a deep breath and looked at her and when she glanced at him, she could tell that he was once again in control of his emotions.

"What does 'Meadow' mean?" He gestured to the word that was right under his crest.

"On top of giving the little leather patch, I also like to give nicknames to my friends. I usually give a flower named based on hair or eye color, but brown hair and green eyes kind of limit my options." He gave her a knowing nod. "And since you came into my life at a difficult time and are like a breath of fresh air, I thought Meadow might fit you." His eyes widen and his cheeks redden.

"And I thought you would prefer being called Meadow instead of grass or tree."

He broke out into a laughing fit at that. "Yes, I would much rather be called Meadow than either of those." He flashed her a guanine smile and she was right he looked much more handsome with one of those.

"Thank you…my friend."

"Happy Birthday Meadow."

* * *

Happy New Year! Thank you all so much for sticking with this story so far and I hope to continue to produce better chapters as the year goes on!


	14. Chapter 14

It's back to school for me again…I won't have so many papers to write this time at least but there I will have a lot of reading to do…

Just a little reminder that I changed Byleth's birthday to the Sixth of the Verdant Rain Moon.

Oh, and I realized that it's actually Verdant Rain Moon and not Verdant Moon, I will have to go back and fix that when I have some time.

Ages:

Byleth: 18

Claude: 15

* * *

**Verdant Rain Moon 1178:**

**Sixth of the Verdant Rain Moon:**

It took two weeks for Byleth and Claude to arrive back in Derdriu and they had arrived just in time to celebrate her birthday and for the first time in years, she was actually looking forward to celebrating it. There was just one little problem and that was Claude presenting his gift to Duke Riegan. It was an incredibly important event to him, she understood that, but that didn't mean she wasn't disappointed. He didn't even wish her a happy birthday before rushing off…

She tried to not let her disappointment get the better of her as she wondered through the city alone. The city seemed to be alive with cheer or maybe it just seemed that way to her as she was just glad to be back in Fodlan. Food Stalls filled the air with delicious scents, and she decided that she was going to treat herself to a good meal, until she remembered that she was strapped for gold.

With a heavy sigh she dragged her feet to the tavern, hoping that she could find a job there or at the very least find out about where she could get one. Her feet felt heavy as she dragged herself through the city. Without the sacred weapon she no longer had a source for seemingly endless amount of energy and now she wondered if her exhaustion was catching up to her or if it was just something else. She sure hoped it was something else because she wouldn't be able to afford a doctor or even a hotel room to pass out in for a few days.

The tavern was just in sight when someone grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around. She was barely able to make out the flash of blue before she was pulled into a tight embrace. It took her a second to register what was going on and she tried to fight against, whoever it was.

Eventually, her captor got the picture and let her go. She glared up at the man, but it quickly vanished as her eyes widen. Her mouth hung open, but no sounds slipped through it. With shaky hands she raised them up towards the man, but she stopped herself before actually touching him.

The person did what she stopped from doing and cupped her face and she stared into his blue eyes. "L-Lord Rodrigue…?" she finally found her voice to ask. With misty eyes, he nodded and pulled her in for another hug and that time she returned it.

"I…we all thought you were dead," he said so quietly that she nearly didn't hear him. She pushed lightly against him so that she could look at his face.

"What do you mean?"

"After Lord Rufus released you from the castle, it was discovered that a battle had take place just behind the castle…and there was so much blood…We all had feared the worse." He pulled her back in for another hug.

She rested her head against his chest as her mind was swirling with so many thoughts. She was assumed dead? Her eyes widen at the fear that Dimitri must have thought she was dead as well. Burning her face into Lord Rodrigue's chest she tired to imagine what Dimitri must have thought or experienced after learning such a fact. Gripping the lord's tunic, she whispered a silent apology to Dimitri. When she had faced death, she had taken a small comfort in the fact that Dimitri would have never known and would never experience the nightmares of her death; her only comfort became another nightmare for her beloved friend.

With thoughts of Dimitri flooding her mind, she pushed Lord Rodrigue a bit so that he would release her enough to allow her to look up at him. "A-Aster?" she asked quietly, and he pressed his lips together.

"Forgive me, but I am alone." She tried to mask her disappointment but failed miserably. He said nothing as he patted her head.

She gave into the comforting act and allowed her mind to settle. When she had calmed down some, she looked back up at him and so many emotions flooded her. Taking a deep breath, she wanted to say something but had no idea what to say or even do.

He looked away for a bit to stare up ahead. "It is the sixth of the Verdant Rain Moon is it not?" He glanced down at her and she nodded. "Happy birthday Byleth."

Her eyes widen. "You remember?"

"Of course," he smiled at her, "For so many years Felix and His Highness would beg me to try and find some kind of job that would bring the Jeralt Mercenaries over so that they could celebrate your birthday." She smiled at the thought. "…King Lambert had even asked me one time too…" With her reunion with Lord Rodrigue, it made the thought of King Lambert more painful, but it was also welcomed as she could once again talk to someone, who was familiar with him.

"I miss him and Glenn." He said nothing and brought her in for another hug. "I am sorry for your loss." It was something she heard people say after the death of a loved one. She heard her fair share of it after the death of Muharib and she hated it, but she felt like it was something that needed to be said. He said nothing and squeezed her a little tighter.

The faint scent of sandalwood lulled her into a sense of peace that she had long forgotten but it didn't last long. The fear of their reunion of being just a dream constricted her heart and she squeezed him in fear of waking. When he began to pull away, she reluctantly let go.

"We need to celebrate your birthday." She opened her mouth to protest but he didn't give her a chance, when he turned away to address the two knights behind him; alerting her to their presence. "Cancel all my plans for today."

"But Milord-" a knight started but was interrupted by his liege.

"It is the birthday of a dear friend that I have not seen in years." The knight pressed his lips together and bowed.

"I don't want to ruin your schedule," Byleth lightly protested on the knight's behest. While she didn't want to set back Lord Rodrigue, she couldn't deny that she really wanted to spend the day with him.

"It is no trouble. I wish to catch up with you." She smiled at that. "Besides, King Lambert would give me hell when I see him in the next life, if I did not treat you well on your birthday."

The birthday celebration started off with a nice lunch and she tried really hard to not show her gratefulness for having a free meal. She would have been perfectly fine with street food, but he had insisted on eating at a high-end restaurant. While she wasn't a picky eater, she could not deny that the taste that from high quality food was superior to many of the meals she normally ate.

Just like with her posture, Byleth's eating etiquette was perfect and she was sure if Claude saw her, he would be testing her knowledge and questioning her background. Easily slipping into old habits felt so natural and right and she couldn't help but hope that that meant she could return to Dimitri's side, someday. While there was no denying the taste of expensive food, the small portions never did satiate her appetite, but she didn't want to trouble Lord Rodrigue anymore than she already was, so she pretended to be satisfied with what she already had.

Their little meal was finished relatively quickly, and they just sat around enjoying their tea. She had noticed that he had been watching her carefully and she didn't know how she was supposed to act. Starting to feel a little nervous under his constant gaze, she struggled to maintain her little smile.

"Byleth," he finally spoke, and his smile left his face. She sat stiff as a board in her seat. "May I ask as to why you never contacted any of us?"

She blinked at him for a few seconds before her gaze dropped to her teacup. "Lord Rufus said I wasn't allowed to have any contact with any influential people in the Kingdom." She stole a glance at him and saw his lips pressed together and looked away. Her fingers rubbed against her cup and her sights returned to it. "I always wanted to send someone a letter at the very least, but I was afraid what would happen to them if it was discovered that they had some kind of contact with me." Her voice was barely a soft whisper.

A few seconds passed before he returned his gaze onto her and she gave him a small smile. "You are growing out your hair?" Surprised at the question she ran her fingers through her hair that now reached her mid back, as if bringing it to attention would help her understand.

"Yes," she said quietly. Long hair was truly a hinderance in battle and despite her father's insistence that she cut it, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Lady Patricia would always pass through her mind whenever she reached for a pair of scissors. She would tie up her hair up into a ponytail before she went into battle, but it didn't really do much and she just learned to accept that.

"It suits you." She blushed slightly. "I am sure that His Highness would agree." She wished she could have been told such a thing from Dimitri, himself.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"You are eighteen now, correct?" She looked up at him and nodded before the information set in. "Your father must have been dreading this day for a very long time, now that you are of marriable age." She stared at her cup as it finally set in that she was turning eighteen. "Byleth, what is wrong?"

"I…" She took a deep breath. "I made a promise to Aster that when I turned eighteen that I would become his knight…" That promise had been the first promise she ever made that didn't involve her returning to see him and it was the first promise she ever broke. She wanted to laugh at just how fitting that another one of her first was taken by Dimitri again.

"I had gotten so caught up in our reunion that I have only now realized that you are not with your father." She looked up at Lord Rodrigue as she could tell he was trying to fix the mood with how overly jovial he made his tone. She decided that she wouldn't ruin their reunion with her sorrow. "Where is he? Surely, he would want to celebrate such an important birthday for his daughter."

"He's in the Kingdom helping several villages."

"And you did not go with him?"

Her eyes drifted back down to her teacup. "I have been banished from the Kingdom." When she heard a low growl come from him, she glanced up and saw that his fits were tightly clenched.

"Byleth…," he started but stopped after a sigh. "I am surprised that he left you on your own. Sir Jeralt is such an overprotective father."

"He didn't want too." She turned her gaze to the windows and watched a young boy grab and older man's arm and point at something. It was only then that she realized that it had been six months since she had last seen her father and she was starting to miss him; Claude managed to do a wonderful job at distracting her from many things. "I begged him to go to the Kingdom, as I couldn't. I wanted him to help in my stead."

"Byleth…" His eyes widen before his face settled into a soft smile. "I am so pleased to discover that you are still a sweet, wonderful, young woman despite…" He decided to let that thought die.

They were content with spending the remainder of their time, in the restaurant, in a comfortable silence. When the tea finally ran out, they left and spent the remainder of the day wondering around the city. She had wanted to bring up the topic about Dimitri and the others but Lord Rodrigue hadn't mentioned them and she was wondering if she could. It wasn't until they passed a blacksmith that she finally decided to ask.

"How…How are Aster and the others?" She asked as she inspected a nice Silver Sword. Lord Rodrigue didn't say anything for some time. She was about to return the sword to its proper place when she saw him hand the smith some gold coins, and she was unable to protest when the sword was given to her. For only a second she pouted but was quick to thank him, when she realized her pout would change nothing.

"Everyone is doing well," he finally said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. She didn't realize that he was a terrible liar before. Putting on her own fake smile, she decided to not say anything.

Evening began to settle and though she did not want to part; she knew full well that if he had been staying at a hotel it would definitely be in one that she couldn't afford and she didn't want him to waste any more gold on her than he already had. They stopped in the city's square and both were clearly avoiding something; but it had been something that the both of them had been doing all day. It took her some time, but she managed to work up the courage to say goodnight only for him to destroy it.

"Byleth, do you wish to return to Faerghus with me?" With wide eyes, her mouth hung open but not a single sound escaped her. Her lower lip began to tremble as her mind raced. When her vision began to blur with the tears, she wouldn't be able to shed, did she cover her mouth to hide the little sobs she knew that would be following. He reached out to hold her but her shaking her head stopped him.

"I can't," she finally choked out though it was incredibly quiet, and she wondered if he even heard her. He said nothing but watched her carefully. She pulled her hands away so when she spoke, he could hear her better, "Lord Rufus-"

"Forget him!" She was surprised to see the fierceness in his eyes. "You are welcome to stay in my domain; he has little say in my land's affair."

It warmed her heart to hear such a thing, but she knew it would not be so easy. "I-I know about the rumor," she said with a shake of her head. Upon learning that she was thought to be dead that little hop of returning blossomed within but then she remembered that Miklan and his lack of surprise upon seeing her alive, had her doubting if that rumor had died; and based on Lord Rodrigue's pressed lips and balled fists proved her theory.

"It is nothing more than a baseless rumor created by power hunger fools." That maybe true but that fact changed nothing and they both knew that. "I will protect you." She had no doubt that he wouldn't be able too and that was why it made it so hard for her to refuse him.

"I-I can't have you do that. Taking me in would only damage your reputation and with the Kingdom in the state that it is in… It would be far too harmful for you…" She was unable to finish that thought before a sob slipped through and she was once again covering her mouth to help fight back the next one.

"Byleth," he called her name softly and reached out for her, only to have his hand smacked away by an angry teen.

"Get away from her!" The dark-skinned teen shouted with a fierce glare. He stood between the two. In his anger he forgot to mask his accent.

"Meadow," she was able to say once she had calmed down some. He maintained his defensive stance but looked at her from over his shoulder. "He is a dear friend of mine." Reluctantly, he stepped to the side but stayed close to her, and his eyes flickered between the two constantly.

"I want to go with you so very much," she paused to suck in a deep breath, "I desperately want to see everyone again." She closed her eyes as another sob slipped through. "But the price you would have to pay…" She shook her head and briefly paused to let herself gain some control over her voice, "I don't want to be a hinderance."

Claude grasped her right hand and ran his thumb over it. It was a comforting act and she choose to focus on that instead of her sporadic breathing. When she had calmed down some, she gave his hand a small squeeze as a small thanks and he returned the gesture.

"Byleth," Lord Rodrigue whispered and for a second he closed his eyes and opened them to look her right in the eye. "It pleases me to see that you have grown into a fine woman." Not sure what to say to that she only nodded.

One of the knights pulled the lord aside momentarily to converse and Claude took the opportunity to check on her. While her eyes were still misty, she had calmed down greatly and she had tried to assure him of that. She could tell that he wasn't completely convinced by his frown and refusal to let go of her hand. Glancing over at Lord Rodrigue she noticed a frown work its way onto his face.

With a stern scowl he returned to the children. "As loath as I am to say this, but I must part ways with you." Her eyes widen and she sucked in a deep breath; she wasn't ready to part. "Only for tonight as I must see Duke Riegan tonight." She released a sigh of relief while Claude watched him closely. "Will you be staying in Dredriu for a while?"

"Yes, I will be staying in the Lazy Deer Inn," she lied as she didn't want him to worry but she didn't even know if she could afford a room there.

He nodded with a small smile. "Then would it be alright for me to ask to see you tomorrow?"

"I would very much like to see you again."

With a bow the Duke gave into his knight's instances. When he finally began to reluctantly leave, did the knight finally relax. The two remaining people watched the Duke leave in silence.

"Who was he?" Claude asked once the older man was out of sight.

"He is Lord Rodrigue, Duke Fraldarius from the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus."

His eyes widen. "You are good friends with a Duke?!" She gave him a little smile while his eyes narrowed. "And you say you are not a noble?"

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but I swear to you that I am a commoner with a very unique situation." His expression did not change. "I may have kept some secrets, but I have never lied to you."

"I believe you," he sighed. "I have been in a situation all my life where, I cannot trust anyone and yet when it comes to you, I have never doubted that you were telling the truth." He gave her a small smile and she returned it with one of her own. "So, I guess your history with him is part of your secrets then?" She nodded and he sighed. "You know, you have some incredibly interesting secrets." She only gave him a small smile.

He dropped the topic with a little shake of his head. With the hand that still held hers, he pulled it slightly towards him. Smiling widely, he slipped a golden bracelet onto her arm. She pulled back her hand to inspect it and a great deer had been carved onto it. Finished with her little inspection, she looked at him.

"By, I am incredibly sorry about forgetting your birthday…"

"It is alright. You had something very important to do." He frowned.

"But still!" He shook his head before mumbling the rest, "To forget my first friend's birthday…"

She glanced down at the shinny piece of jewelry, it certainly stood out compared to all the grey of her clothes. It was also an impractical item. She shouldn't keep it as it would only get in the way of battle or take up much needed space in her pack, but she didn't care. She looked at her little gift with love, until a little thought occurred to her.

"Meadow," she drew out his nickname, in ordered to grab his attention, "you have gold?"

He looked away sheepishly. "No…" She leaned towards him with eyes narrowed. "Okay, I have a bit of gold but only after I traded something for it. I am sorry, I know I have been one giant financial burden." Smiling, she patted his head.

"It is alright." He gave her a dubious look. "I do not regret anything I have done with you." Blushing, he struggled to contain a smile. "That being said you are going to help me find a job tomorrow."

"You need gold?"

"I did go through most of my saving since we have arrived." Most of it went to purchasing the tickets for the ship but she decided to keep that to herself. "I don't even think I have enough for a hotel room."

* * *

Fate had been kind to them with the rest of Byleth's gold and the little bit Claude had managed to acquire they were able to afford a single bed room in the Lazy Deer Inn. She had promised her father that she would stay in Dredriu until he arrived, but she wouldn't be able too, unless she got some gold soon. She hoped that she would be able to find a job that allowed her to stay close to the city.

Claude had fought with her on giving her the bed, but she refused and settled for sleeping on the floor with her bedroll. Even when she had thought that the argument was done, he continued until she had agreed to share the bed and even laid down next to him and in a flustered panic he gave up and she got the floor. For an hour after that he was unable to look at her and kept his back to her as he read one of the two books, he snuck out of the manor, on the bed.

Once he presented his gift to Duke Riegan she was sure that he would have been staying in the manor, but it seemed like the Duke needed more time accepting things. She never said it to Claude, but she was glad that the Duke needed more time as she was sure once Claude was in the manor, she wouldn't get to spend much time with him, and she wasn't ready for that. Selfishly, she wanted the Duke to take a long time, or at the very least wait until her father arrived.

A knock at the door broke the little quiet that the two had found themselves in. The two glanced at each other for a bit before she went to the door. The one, who knocked was Lord Rodrigue, who appeared to be greatly troubled.

He glanced at Claude briefly before giving her a deep bow. "Forgive me for disturbing you at this hour," he said after arising from his bow, "but something has happened in the Kingdom and I must return immediately."

With wide eyes, she reached out for him but stopped herself before touching him. "A-Aster is he okay?!" she said and though she had tried to maintain an air of calm, panic still slipped through her voice.

He grabbed one her outstretched hands and held it in his own with a firm grip. "He is fine." She relaxed at that. "It is not that serious of an issue, but it does require me to return home." She searched his face and she couldn't tell if she found anything. Earlier, he had been a terrible liar and she didn't know if he had just slipped then or if he was still one and she just wanted to believe him this time.

She gave him a firm nod and he released her hand. She chose to believe him as she knew there was little she could do otherwise. "I understand you are in a hurry, but can I ask for you to spare a few minutes so that I may finish what I was doing?" He gave her a nod and she rushed over to the little desk in the room.

Lord Rodrigue waited patiently in the little room. He glanced at Claude, who had been laying on the only bed, reading and munching on a piece of jerky. The older man scowled at the boy, who then sat up straight because of the intense stare.

"Do you have a room of own, boy?" the Lord asked, and Claude opened his mouth to speak but Byleth spoke first.

"No, we are sharing." Her eyes never looked away from her work, so she missed the pleading look from Claude or the disapproving one from the Duke.

"And may I ask why?" Lord Rodrigue turned his gaze back onto the teen, who once again tried and failed to speak first.

"It's cheaper that way." A glare from the older man caused the boy to shrink into himself.

"Byleth," the stern call of her name caused her to flinch, but she dared not to look at him. "You know full well that your father would not approve of this." She knew that but she didn't really have a choice. "You are now of marriageable age; you need to start thinking about your actions now." She said nothing and just starred at the quill in her hand.

"It is my fault sir," Claude interjected as he got off the bed to bow. "We are low on funds because I needed to make an expensive purchase." Lord Rodrigue narrowed his eyes on the boy, who didn't flinch under the intense stare.

With a heavy sigh the Lord dropped the issue. Byleth quickly finished what she was doing and rushed over to the men with several envelopes. She gave Claude's arm a quick squeeze as thanks as she held out the envelopes, towards the older man.

"I know, I am not allowed to have any contact with anyone in the Kingdom but…" Lord Rodrigue pressed his lips tightly together. "But surely it is alright for me to write them a letter letting them know that I am not dead, right?" Her voice began to tremble, and Claude held her free hand while the Duke took the letters.

"I will see to it that they get delivered without King Regent Rufu's knowledge." Unable to find her voice all she could do was just nod. He pulled her in for one final hug. When he pulled back, they both looked at each other, neither one of them wanting to say farewell.

Prolonging the goodbye just a little longer, Lord Rodrigue gestured for one of his knights to step forward and hand him his bag to which he shuffled around inside of it. After a quick moment, he produced a small bag and handed it to her. She gave him a quizzical look for a second before peaking inside and her eyes widen at the amount of gold, he was giving her.

She opened her mouth to protest but he was quick to silence her. "With your father helping the Kingdom, it falls onto my shoulders to make sure that you are take care off." She still wanted to protest but realized that it was pointless, so she decided to thank him.

He smiled at her and they both knew that they had to part, when his knight began to clear his throat. Only simple farewells were given as both refused to say goodbye. They promised that one day that they would meet again.

**Ninth of the Verdant Rain Moon:**

They both knew it would be foolish to be expecting to hear from Duke Riegan so quickly after presenting the gift and yet they still kept hope; well Claude did at least. When evening came on yet another day of no word, Byleth decided to treat Claude to a nice dinner to lift up his spirits. That seemed to cheer him up some and he was quick to express his thanks.

Night had fallen and they walked together back towards their inn. Thanks to Lord Rodrigue, she now could afford two rooms and then some; She thought it was a waste of gold to get two separate rooms, instead of one with two beds. Her reputation was already ruin given her scars and mercenary background, so those wo care about reputations were not going to spare her a second glance; but Claude seemed to care so she got the second room.

When they were just shy of reaching their inn two men appeared from the shadows of the nearby alleyway. Her blood ran cold when she saw their mask and she stood protectively in front of Claude. He tried to push past her, but she wouldn't allow it. After all the years of them attacking her she had gotten quite skilled at handling them and even her fear of them had started to diminish but with Claude with her, she wasn't so sure.

"By? What is wrong?" Claude asked. Once again, he tried to push past her, and she grabbed his arm and he stopped upon her death grip. He looked up at her, but she just stared ahead.

When she was sure that he wasn't going to move, she released his arm to grab her sword's hilt. She didn't unsheathe it right away and instead choose to watch the men a bit more. Their quiet laughter chilled her to the bone and she finally drew her blade.

Their laughter roared as they drew their daggers and it nearly drowned out the small cry Claude made. Forgetting all about the men before her she turned back towards Claude and her eyes widen at the horror she discovered. A third man had grabbed Claude and held a dagger to the boy's neck.

"I will be fine," Claude assured her, but she did not register it. She took a slight step forward and heard a playful tsk coming from behind her.

"No sudden movements," said one of the two men from behind. She didn't see who said it, nor did she care as her entire focus remained on Claude.

"Without your daddy here to protect you. You won't survive this," said the other man from behind.

Gritting her teeth, she dropped her sword and it clanged loudly in the night's air. "It's my life you want. Let him go!" Byleth said with clenched fists.

"You are in no position to be making any demands." She felt both of the men's daggers being pressed into her back and were being twisted back and forth, tearing at her clothes but not her skin.

She continued to glare at the man that held Claude captive and he returned it with a sickening smirk. A flash of steal momentarily caught her eye and she discovered that Claude had produced a small knight from somewhere. The two locked eyes for a moment before acting.

Claude plunged his small weapon into the man's stomach, who cried out, and sliced the teen's neck as he fumbled back. Byleth grabbed Claude before he fell and shoved her hand into the man's face for a point-blank fire blast. Cradling Claude's head, she focused all her attention onto healing his wound. A sigh of relief escaped her when she discovered it to be a fairly shallow cut.

"Byleth!" Claude screamed out as two daggers plunged into her back.

Thrusting one hand behind her, she released a small blast of fire to push the men back. They stubbled back and she chased after them. She grabbed an arm of each man and channeled much of her energy into them as Thunder magic. When she was done, both men collapsed with not a single sound escaping either of them.

Once she was sure all threats were cleared, she rushed to Claude, who was slowly rising to his feet. She tried to go about fussing over him, but he wasn't going to have it and started to drag her inside the inn. The innkeeper barely spared them a glance as they rushed towards their rooms.

Inside her room, she stared to burst into a coughing fit that had her collapsing onto her bed. The fit seemingly had no end and at some point, she started to cough up blood. Before her consciousness slipped away, she tried to make sense of it as her wounds were pretty shallow.

It was several hours later when she finally came too. As she regained consciousness her body felt incredibly heavy. Claude was quickly at her side and helped her drink some water. He gave her a comforting smile as he helped her lay back down and he returned to his seat at the side of her bed.

"What happened?" she asked and speaking hurt her dry throat.

"Those men who attacked us used poison," he explained, and her eyes widen. The masked people had attacked her in many underhanded ways, but poison was a first. "It is a good thing; I am familiar with poisons."

She stared at him a bit. "So, I guess that's your specialty you were talking about when we first met?"

He gave her a strained smile before looking away. He stared at the cup in his hands. The strained smile soon fell away when a sigh escaped him.

"I guess you are disappointed in me, huh?" He still couldn't look at her. "It is not very heroic to mess with poisons…" Reaching out for him, she got him to finally look at her.

"You created an antidote, did you not?" With pressed lips he gave her a small nod. "I am alive because of you then. That's pretty heroic if you ask me." His eyes widen. "Thank you for saving me Meadow."

His eyes dropped to his knees and he fists clenched. "I…I was so afraid that you…" His voice was trembling as he spoke before he stopped all together. She rubbed his arm and when he looked up at her she was able to see the tears ready to fall at any moment. She gave him a small smile.

"I promise, I will not leave you." He gave her a genuine smile.

**Fourteenth of the Verdant Rain Moon:**

A few days after the attack Claude was requested to at the Riegan Manor. Byleth was content with just waiting for him to finish whatever business he had there but he had insisted that she come along. While she was hesitant to once again to find herself embroiled in another country's nobility, but she knew that it was to late once she discovered Claude's heritage.

Claude stood proudly in front of the doors to the manor and gave a charming smile to the guards that had threaten to violently escort him away last month. Even though, she did not want to be there she couldn't help but smile at her companion's antics. There was a mini standoff until one guard admitted defeat and opened the massive doors, with an unneeded, overdramatic bow Claude entered but when she tried to follow, she was stopped.

"The invite was only for the…grandson," one of the guards said with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"I am sure that my dear old gramps, would love to meet the woman that has brought him his long, lost grandson," Claude retorted back, and she sighed. The guards glared at him and he glared back. Rubbing her temples, she contemplated on whether or not she could just slip away unnoticed.

"Oh," said an older woman and the guards flinched at just the sound of her voice. The woman had long brown hair and blue eyes and the pantsuit she wore proudly displayed the Alliance's colors. She had a commanding presence and Byleth liked it. The woman than turned her sights onto to Claude and even he flinched under it.

"You must be the boy claiming to be Aline's son?" Not sparing the guards the slightest glance, she walked over to the boy and stared into his eyes. Standing back to her full height she smiled. "I know those green eyes anywhere. There is no doubt that you are Aline's son." Claude was practically beaming at that.

She walked inside and he was about to follow, when once again the guards stopped Byleth. Claude was about to challenge them again when the woman intervened. "What is going on here?"

"This woman is trying to enter the manor without permission," a guard was quick to say.

"And I told you she is my dear friend! She is the only reason why I was able to make it here!" Claude shouted back and she felt like he was laying on the compliments a bit too much, as she was sure he would have gotten recognized without her help somehow.

The older woman walked over to Byleth and it was the mercenary's turn to be sized up. "You look like you are pretty skilled with that sword of yours."

"Yes," Byleth squeaked as she was not expecting such a compliment. "My father has trained me well." The woman smiled at that.

"What is your name girl?"

"Byleth," she hesitated on whether or not to give her last name," Alexandre." Unsure of how far the rumor about her extended she decided on using her fake name. She ignored the look Claude was giving her.

"Well Miss Alexandre, you may call me Judith Von Daphnel." The name Daphnel sounded familiar but Byleth couldn't recall from where. She did like how the woman didn't bother with all the overtop introductions and bows that nobles normally liked to do. "You will be my guest so come along."

"Lady Daphnel!" the guards shouted in unison, but she merely dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

"I don't want to be a bother!" Byleth said and Judith smiled at her.

"With how well behaved you have been acting, you certainly will not be. The boy could learn a thing or two from you," Judith said and patted her head. "Now come along we must not keep the Duke waiting any longer." And with that she headed inside.

The mercenary looked at the guards, who gave her small glares back. Unenthusiastically, they stepped aside so that she may pass. Claude gave them an obnoxious goodbye as he followed the women.

Judith guided them through the manor, and she had talked about various things. Byleth tried very hard to pay attention but Claude was making that almost impossible with his stare. Unable to keep her composure going forever she caved with a tiny sigh.

"Alexandre?" Claude asked, seizing on the slight let down of her guard. She said nothing and continued to look ahead. "What is your real name? Alexandre or Eisner?"

"Eisner," she answered in the same whispered tone that he was using, but she never looked at him.

"Why the lie then?" She did not answer. "Does this have something to do with your secrets revolving around the Kingdom?" She was surprised to discover that he figured out that all her secrets revolved around her stay in the Kingdom; though, she guessed it was only natural for him to reach such a conclusion after meeting Lord Rodrigue. With her eyes locked on Judith's back, she nodded, and there was a bit of silence between the two.

"I will not press further then." She glanced at him. "I will respect your boundaries." She smiled at him and whispered her appreciation. "But boy do you have some very interesting secrets."

Outside of the manor, she had liked the feel of it more than Castle Blaiddyd but inside was a different story. Inside was gaudy or at least it seemed that way to her. Every hallway had at least one extravagant painting as well as, she imagined, was an expensive piece of furniture to go with it. It was clear to her and all that House Riegan was determined to show off its wealth. It seemed way to excessive to her but given how the Alliance was a popular country for merchants to work in, wealth was probably common, but she did much more prefer the subtle hints of wealth that Castle Blaiddyd engaged in.

The grand tour came to an end in a massive office, where the size would put King Lambert's office to shame. In that room the number of expensive items were at their greatest and she believed only the Duke's bedroom could rival it. Mounted on the wall behind the Duke was the sword that she and Claude had found; she had learned from Claude that it was called the Sword of Begalta and was once used by Claude's ancestor before Saint Macuil took it back. She glanced at her friend, who gave her a small smirk.

"Judith, you have arrived earlier than I was expecting," the old man at the massive desk said. He was a pale old man, with only white, thin hair on the sides of his head and tired looking hazel eyes. His clothes were made of the finest material and were clearly unaffordable to Byleth even with all the gold that Lord Rodrige had given her. While the man looked nothing like Claude, he had to be the Duke and thus the teen's grandfather.

"When you sent word that a boy claiming to be Aline's son showed up, I just had to meet him right away," Judith said with such casualness that it was a complete surprise to Byelth as she had never seen such a thing before from other nobles (she knew she was a great oddity with the level of casualness that she was allowed to share with Dimitri). Lord Rodrigue was King Lambert's best friend and there was a casualness between the two, but the Duke always addressed his King with great respect. Byleth couldn't tell if Judith was just incredibly close to Duke Riegan or she just didn't care for all the noble necessities but Byleth had to admit she was liking the Lord more and more.

Duke Riegan turned his sights onto Byleth and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? I do not recall sending for a stranger." She flinched under his harsh gaze.

"She is the woman, who brought your grandson to you. I thought you might appreciate meeting her," Judith said with a casualness that still surprised the young woman. The Duke looked away from Byleth to look at Judith.

"So, you believe he is my grandson?"

"Come now, you knew he was your grandson all along. All you have to do is look into his vibrant green eyes."

He closed his eyes for a brief moment before snapping them open to look at his grandson, who stood perfectly straight. He said nothing as he looked over the boy. After a few seconds of nothing happening the Duke leaned back into his chair.

"Tell me," he paused for a second, "Claude, is my daughter doing well?"

"Oh yes! My mother's ferociousness knows no bounds. She does not let anyone walk over her. She is both to be feared and respected," Claude said with a large smile. A small smile wormed its way onto the Duke's face.

**Horsebow Moon 1178:**

**Eighth of the Horsebow Moon:**

Thanks to Lady Judith, Claude had been recognized as Duke Riegan's grandson. And for her help in brining the family together Byleth was allowed to work as a guard at the Riegan's Manor and was even give a place to stay as well. Just as she feared, she had become a hot topic for rumors amongst the staff and no one was satisfied that she was just a mercenary that Claude had hired to escort him.

The eighth of the Horsebow came and with it was the celebration of the Leicester Alliance's founding. She had been tasked with guarding Claude during the festival and everyone knew it was just an excuse for the two to have fun together. Claude saw to it that they would see everything that the festival had to offer.

The Alliance's founding celebration didn't have a massive tournament to celebrate like the Kingdom did and so she was a bit disappointed. But unlike the Kingdom it did offer many more merchants selling their wares as well as many games that were more than just contest of strength. It was different and thus made it more enjoyable to her.

Claude was more than happy to drag her through the town trying out various games and then relied on her reflexes to win them. She couldn't tell if he was testing her out or just goofing around; regardless she had more than enough prizes that she didn't even know what to do with. By her seventh game she had started to amass a following of kids that were in awe of her skills. Being the center of attention of a large following was something that she still wasn't fond of.

They continued to play some more games and grow an even larger collection of prizes that the kids were now staring at her for. The little parade came to an end when a girl with long, pink hair draped down her back and pink eyes walked over to them. With a charming, little smile she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward towards Claude.

"Say, are you Claude?" she asked and both Claude and Byleth arched an eyebrow.

"It is rude to ask for someone's name without first introducing oneself," Claude said, and he rested his hands behind his head. Byleth took the opportunity to distribute her prizes amongst her little followers and then sent the kids away.

"Oh! You are right, do forgive me, okay?" The girl batted her eyelashes at Claude. Byleth had seen such actions directed at Dimitri numerous times and it always irked her then but now it didn't really bother her, and she had no idea why. The girl stood up straight and pulled at the sides of her dress and curtsied. "I am Hilda Valentine Goneril."

From the corner of her eye Byleth could see Claude freeze so she stepped forward. "I'm Byleth Alexandre," she said with a bow. Claude might have been recognized as Duke Riegan's grandson, but it hadn't been made public yet, so it was clear that the girl was someone important. If Hilda cared that Byleth, introduced herself first she made no show of it.

"You are right, I am Claude," he said as he snapped out of his thoughts. He folded his arms across his chest and eyed Hilda suspiciously.

"Good," Hilda said, "Let us be friends." She clapped her hands together in front of her as she gave him an innocent smile. He glanced at Byleth for answers, who merely shrugged her shoulders in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

"I was told if I met you that I should get along and try to become your friend." The two friends shared a glance before looking at Hilda. "Honestly, trying to buddy up to you is going to be too much work so why not be a dear and just say were friends okay? That will make my dad happy and get him off my back." Claude once again glanced at Byleth, who just repeated earlier confused gesture.

"Why do you want to be my friend?"

"I will be honest I do not care if we are friends or not, but my father does." He arched an eyebrow. "Look, being Duke Riegan's grandson means you have a high chance of becoming the heir. House Goneril has always had close ties to House Riegan and my father wants to keep it that way, but it is such a hassle."

Claude broke out laughing. "I like how you do not beat around the bush. Alright, I will be your friend."

The two laughed some more as they chatted. Byleth watched them in silence. She had to jump through so many hopes to become Claude's friend that she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at how easy it was for Hilda.

"Hiiiillllddddaaa!" A large, muscular man wit the same pink shade of hair and eyes shouted as he rushed over. Either ignoring Claude or he just didn't see the boy he grabbed Hilda in a tight hug, who had an annoyed expression. "My wonderful, baby sister you cannot just leave without telling me!"

Once again Claude and Byleth exchanged looks as they watched Hilda fight off her brother. It took clearly too much effort for the younger girl's liking to get her brother off. With a bit of scolding the brother began to settle down and act like a proper brother.

"Forgive me, when my dear sister was no longer by myside I panicked," he explained, and she rolled her eyes. "I am forgetting my manners," he paused to bow, "I am Holst Adalwin Goneril." Claude froze again. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

Byleth introduced herself again to allow Claude some time to recover but when she finished, and he was still not ready she tried to stall for more time. "I have heard tales of your feats," she said. What she had heard, had painted Lord Holst as a great man with much skill to his name. She had always wanted to meet him and maybe even challenge him to a friendly match, but she never imagined him to be so young; he had to be only a few years older than her. And he was quite handsome too; if it wasn't for that strange interaction with his sister, she might have taken a greater interest in him.

"General Holst," Claude started with a bitter tone but quickly switched to a lighter one before the siblings noticed but Byleth wasn't fooled. "You must be quite the warrior to defeat those vile Almyrians." Byleth looked at him but he didn't acknowledge her.

Lord Holst frowned for a moment before forcing a smile. Between all her friends, Byleth was aware of that fake smile and she was ready to dub such a smile as the "noble smile" as she only seen it worn for an act. The jolly air around him gave away to a stoic professional one; if she hadn't seen it happened right before her eyes she wouldn't believe anyonr if they told her that he was the same man.

"Yes, I take great pride in defeating those barbarous liars." Claude's fake smile became even more strained.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Byleth asked and all eyes flew to her. "That Almyrians are barbarous liars?"

Lord Holst stared at her for a bit in silence, while both Claude and Hilda watched her. Lord Holst finally tore his eyes away from her to look around and though there were many people around no one was really paying attention to them save for a few girls, but it was clear that they weren't listening to the conversation. Slowly, he returned his attention onto her.

"No," he said quietly, and she knew it wasn't because he was ashamed to say it but feared who would hear it. He was the defender at Fodlan's Locket and given her experience she knew nobles wouldn't hesitant to attack him and try to weaken his influence if they could gain an advantage.

"I often battle against Nader the Undefeated," Lord Holst started to speak louder once he became more comfortable. Byleth noticed that Claude had perked up upon hearing the name Nader. "He is a powerful man. A true terror to face but he is also kind and honorable. In our last fight an unknown woman had wondered into the battlefield and he stopped to help her. A barbarian would not do such a thing." Claude's smile became more genuine the longer that Lord Holst spoke.

"As for liars, well I am sure that the Almyrians can say the same thing about us. We have broken our fair share of agreements as well."

A comfortable silence settled over Claude while Hilda had asked for more explanation. Byleth elbowed Claude slightly to get his attention and when she did, she gave him her trademark, little smile. He gave her a small smile as well and whispered his appreciation.

The siblings parted not long after that conversation ended. While Claude might have been in a good mood, he was no loner in the mood for games, which was okay for her. They enjoyed a nice, festival meal and watched people. The evening was settling nicely to her until the music started playing and he gave her a mischievous grin.

He quickly got out of his seat and stood before her, the grin never leaving his face. She refused to get up from her seat, so they just stared at each other and he was not backing down. Pointing at him, she made it clear that she would not be joining him. Ignoring her wishes, he grabbed her finger and pulled her onto her feet and continued to ignore her protest as he dragged her to the city's square, where all the dancers were gathered.

She glared at him as he put both of their hands in their proper location. He flashed her a brilliant, innocent smile, while she stuck to her scowl. A new song began to play, and he started to lead, and she instinctively followed.

"Meadow, you know full well that I hate dancing," she sighed, and he just kept up his smile.

"Well, I like dancing with you, so I guess we have a little problem," he said. She refused to blush and give him such a satisfaction. She never thought it was possible for someone to be more charming than Sylvain.

Pulling her in close, he got rid of their little distance. The little blush she was fighting won thanks to the unexpectedness and he smirked at that. He brought his face close to hers, where only a few inches separated them.

"Come now, how can you not like dancing with me?" His warm breath tickled her face on that chilly night. Her eyes widen as she hadn't been that close to a boy in such a long time, and it felt different when she was fifteen with Dimitri. "You said it yourself, I am a breath of fresh-" He never got to finish that thought as he was violently pulled away from her by his collar.

Mustering up his fiercest glare he looked up to see the person that dared to ruin such a moment and instantly the color drained from his face. The intruder was a terrifying, large, muscular man with honey brown hair and eyes, and if looks could kill, Claude knew he would have been dead ten times over. At the mercy of the man, Claude could not even think of doing even the smallest actions that might defuse the situation.

"Dad!" Byleth shouted with glee, while Claude repeated it in horror.

The man finally tore his eyes away from the defenseless boy. While his expression did soften, his anger remained, and he still kept his tight grip on the boy's collar. The glare eventually got to her and she started to squirm under it.

"Kid," he said, and both children flinched at his tone. "I said no boys!"

"Meadow isn't a boy," she started, and her voice grew weaker as he narrowed his eyes, "he's a teen…"

"Byleth!" She flinched even more. "You knew exactly what I meant!" She could only nod weakly to that.

"He is my employer so at least put him down." Giving the boy one more final glare he put him down and looked back at his daughter. "Though, he did see my chest…" The father's ferocious glare instantly returned with much more ferocity and Claude wished he could just shrink away.

"You-you showed me your chest!" Claude shouted, and in his panic, he was unable to mask his accent. Instantly he understood that that was the worst thing he could have said. With a loud cry, he rushed to hide behind Byleth, the only place he knew that he had a chance to be safe in, even if it angered the terrifying man more.

"A-Are you trying to get me killed?!"

"Consider this pay back."

"For making you dance?!" He gripped her arm and she smirked at him.

"Do you have any idea how much gold, I have spent on you?!"

"Because of gold?!"

"I am a mercenary."

"Let go of my daughter!" Jeralt finally spoke and other strangled cry slipped from the teen and he began to shake her as he mumbled so many different apologies.

"Be nice to him dad, I like him," she laughed the father froze. Slowly, he turned to face her and was finally then that he noticed her little smile. Without uttering a single word, he pulled her into for a tight embrace.

"Oh Byleth, you are smiling again," his voice trembled as he spoke, and she rubbed his back.

"Yes, and it's all thanks to Meadow."

**Thirtieth of the Horsebow Moon:**

It was finally time for Byleth and Claude to part and both were very reluctant to do so. He was sporting his usual smile, but she could tell he was struggling to maintain it. Pulling him in for a hug she could feel him giving into his emotions as he gripped the back of her cloak.

"I do not want you to go," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," she said and that didn't sit well with him as he squeezed her tighter.

He held her for a few seconds longer before taking a few deep breaths and letting her go. With a strength she wasn't expecting, he looked her in the eye. She noticed that he was trying to maintain a strong front, but his trembling lip was giving him away.

"Did you not promise me that you would not leave me?" She pressed her lips together and he was the one to look away. "I am sorry. I know when you said that you did not mean for a situation like this…" He took a few deep breaths before he looked at her again. "Do you not have a good job as a guard here?" She gave him a small, sad smile and he frowned.

"You know of the people that attack me." He scowled at the memory of the little attack and she rubbed one of his arms to calm him a bit. "And I know, you've already guessed it, but I have had some bad experience with nobility, and I would like to limit my interactions with them." He frowned. "Of course, you are an exception."

He said nothing and was no longer able to maintain eye contact. "Hey," she called but he didn't look up, "this isn't the last we will see of each other." He sorted of looked at her. "I promise we will see each other again." He finally looked at her properly.

She pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket and handed it to him. He glanced at it briefly before looking back at her. His fingers fidgeted with it, but he never commented on it.

"On that paper is the address of the base my father's mercenary company uses so if you want you can send me letter." He perked up greatly and she noticed that he was not treating the piece of parchment incredibly gently as if it was a sacred item. "I can't guarantee that I will be able to respond to your letters in a timely manner, but I promise to always respond."

His eyes fell onto the little item again before he found his conviction to look back at her. "By, I will not say goodbye because you are right, we will see each other again!"

She nodded. "I hope I can see you again real soon!"


	15. Chapter 15

This chapter is for all of you that commented that you missed Dimitri. For the Claude chapters I felt like they were a little bit too much dialogue heavy and now I written a chapter with almost no dialogue. It is super letter heavy and I hope that they way I wrote this chapter isn't too confusing.

I also didn't plan this and last chapter very well, so I had to retcon when Byleth leaves Derdriu. She's not longer leaving on the Twelfth of the Horsebow Moon but on the Thirtieth instead. It doesn't really change anything, but I thought I would just let you know if you are someone who's aware of such inconsistencies.

Ages:

Dimitri: 14

Dedue: 16

Felix: 15

Ingrid: 15

Sylvain: 17

* * *

**Verdant Rain Moon 1178:**

It took Rodrigue two weeks to arrive in Fhirdiad and by the time he had arrived the issue that had called him back, a minor rebellion, had already been settled. Upon his arrival he had learned that both Prince Dimitri and his son, Felix, had distinguished themselves in battle. While the rebellion wasn't good news, he saw it as the perfect way to present the prince with a little gift.

Finding the prince was no longer a challenge after the supposed death of Byleth as he was always in the training yard if he had no other work to do. Rodrigue had hoped after suppressing a rebellion he would not find the prince so soon in the yard, but he knew that the young man had his own way of coping. Pushing his feelings aside, he walked over to the prince that was inspecting a lance with his retainer.

"Your Highness," he called when he was close enough. Prince Dimitri turned to face him and gave him a grand bow as a greeting. He pressed his lips together at the gesture, ever since the tragedy the casualness that the prince used to greet with was gone. Empty blue eyes stared up at the Duke and he sighed through his nose. The last little bit of light that the prince's eyes held, vanished when Byleth had "died".

"I heard you had distinguished yourself in battle," Rodrigue said, ignoring his feelings on the matter.

"Yes," the prince said, and there was a tautness to his voice that the lord did not like.

"For your achievement, I have brought you a gift." He held out the envelope and the prince looked at it for a moment before taking it. Rodrigue could not help the smile that was growing on his face.

Prince Dimitri hesitantly took the envelope and inspected it. Written across it was his name in a handwriting that he did not recognize. He glanced up at Rodrigue and was puzzled by the smile. Opening the envelope revealed a neatly folded piece of parchment and again he looked at the older man. When he unfolded the letter, he stole one final glance at the Duke.

Upon reading the first two words, the prince's eyes widen. Like a wyvern taking flight, his head shot up to look at Rodrigue properly. The Lord was smiling widely at that point and nodded. Dimitri's eyes flew to the end of the letter and his hands began to tremble. Slowly, he looked back up.

"She is alive," Rodrigue said. "I saw her at Derdriu."

Dimitri had let go of the letter in fear of tearing it. His eyes drifted towards the floor as Rodrigue's words sank in. Tears began to blur his vision, but he wouldn't let them fall. Despite the immense joy he was feeling he knew he couldn't show such a sight to anyone and yet…

"She misses you greatly." That was the final straw and he sank to the floor weeping in pure joy.

After some time, he had gotten a hold of himself to stand up. The wonderful news, the best he had ever heard, and it felt fantastic to one again be able to express his emotions; he had suppressed them for so long. He smiled his first real smile in years.

As he came down from his high a thought occurred to him. He reached out to grab Rodrigue but stopped himself short of doing so. "Why did you not bring her with you?" he asked and struggled to keep his voice steady.

Clenching his fists Rodrigue looked away. "She had informed me that the King Regent had banished her."

Gritting his teeth, Dimitri clenched his fists so tightly that the gauntlets, he wore, were starting to strain under the pressure. "I would gladly offer her my protection!"

Rodrigue continued to still look away. "She is aware of the rumor surrounding her."

Small parts of the prince's gauntlets began to fall apart with how tight he was clenching his fists. That rumor angered him the most. Despite how much he hated the rumor about Duscur causing the tragedy, he could at least understand how people could believe it but the rumor surrounding Byleth was the most maddening. He could not, nor did he want too, understand how anyone could believe that a fifteen-year-old girl caused such an atrocity because she was growing impatient for power?! Those who could believe such a thing made him sick.

"You met her in Derdriu did you not?" Peaking the Lord's interest, he looked back at the prince. "I will go there." Dimitri motioned for Dedue to get ready, only for Rodrigue's powerful voice to stop them.

"You know full well that the King Regent would never allow for such an impromptu leave of the Kingdom, especially after what just happened."

Gritting his teeth and once again clenching his fists so tightly that the larger pieces of metal started to pop off his right hand, Dimitri glared daggers down at the floor, before him. She was alive and so close. If he was to leave right then and had little breaks, he would arrive at Derdriu by the end of the Moon. He could see her again! And yet he was so helpless. Nothing had really changed since he last saw her…

"Write her a letter," Dedue spoke and he grabbed everyone's attention. A little flustered at being the sudden focus his voice was a little weaker as he spoke again, "If that is okay?"

Dimitri's eyes flew to the Duke, who had closed his. "Yes, that is most likely your best bet," he paused to open his eyes and look at the prince. "You will need to do it in secrecy as the King Regent had forbade her from having any contact with anyone in the Kingdom."

Dimitri bit his tongue before he could say something that would get him in trouble. Was the rumor such a threat that they couldn't even send a letter to her? He had to spend two years of his miserable life thinking that he killed his best friend and it was all because of a damned rumor and his uncle's cowardness!

Taking a deep breath, he then exhaled through his nose to calm himself. The justifiable anger wasn't going to help him, and he knew that. As much as he wanted to rush over to the Alliance to just get a peak at Byleth, he would wait and control himself. A letter would d have to do for now but when everything had settled, he would go find her and bring her back to him. Two years ago, he had stopped believing in the goddess but he sword to her that he would one day have Byleth back at his side again.

Giving Rodrigue a bow, he excused himself so that he may finally read his letter in private. Before he and Dedue could leave Rodrigue had pulled out another letter and handed it to Dedue. The retainer pressed his lips tightly together as he stared at the envelope.

"She is staying at the Lazy Deer Inn in Derdriu but even she did not know for how long, so I suggest you write back to her as quickly as possible."

One last farewell was exchanged before Dimitri raced back to his room. He did not wait to see if Dedue was close at hand as he just wanted to read the letter as quickly as possible. Once in his room, he was swiftly sitting at his desk and he spared no attention for any possible, little distractions that might try and disturb him.

_Dear Aster,_

He paused briefly from his reading to cover his eyes. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagined to ever be called by that name again. Wiping away his tears, he continued to read once he was confident that none would fall and damage his precious letter.

_ I'm not really sure what to say or how to start this letter. There is so much I want to say and yet…I guess I should start with that I am not dead. I have written that several times already and it is still weird to write. I am so sorry that you had to believe that I was for two years. Had I known that you believed that, I would have done something to let you know that I was alive, even if I was forbidden from doing so. I never wanted to bring you such suffering._

_ I should explain what happened that night. After Lord Rufus had released me from the castle, I was attacked by three masked men. I hadn't been attacked by them since the Wyvern Moon in 1174 and yet some how they knew to attack me when I was at my weakest. I want to suspect something, but they have such strange magics that maybe they just know where I am at all times? _

Dimitri had to stop reading to take a deep breath. Those people that had attack her, had attacked at such a convenient time and that was far too much of a coincidence for his liking. Dark Shadows covered his face as he stared at the wall before him. Were the people that attack her the same ones behind the Tragedy of Duscur? He took another deep breath, those thoughts he decided that he would save for a later time as for now he wanted to just rejoice that she was alive.

_It is only thanks to the kindness of Lord Rufus that I am alive. If he hadn't informed my father when he was releasing me, I would have died. Actually, I will be honest, I should have died that night or, so I am told. It was only by a miracle that I survived. _

Dimitri sat back to stare up at his roof. He owed his uncle an apology as he had lashed out at the older man, blaming him for her death, even though Dimitri knew that he would have been the one responsible. His belief in the goddess was still questionable but if by chance she did exist and did save Byelth, then he whispered her a silent thank you.

_ I don't really have anything else to say on that matter so I guess I will have to move onto the next topic…I was hoping that this letter would be easy to write but it is not. I much rather say all this to your face. To see you with my own eyes and know that you are okay._

_ Maybe that's what I should write? Are you okay? Do you still have nightmares? Are you eating properly? I know you once told me that you could not taste anything and I, too, was the same. I wonder if that is still the case for you? It was only recently that I got my sense of taste back so if it hasn't returned yet, I am sure it will soon. _

_ I really wish to know if you are okay. Lord Rodriue said you were but…he's a terrible liar. Aster, I am so sorry. I am so sorry for failing you. You needed me most and yet, I only made things worse. _

As hard as Dimitri tried to prevent his tears from falling onto the parchment a few still managed to slip through, but they did not disturb the ink at least. He imprisoned her, practically tortured her, and yet she was the only apologizing. She deserved all the apologies and then some and yet…His throat constricted as he tried to fight back his tears. He didn't deserve to be happy but to learn that not only was she alive but that she still cared about him was far more than he deserved.

_ I am sorry that I am unable to become your knight. I never wanted to break that promise. Please forgive me._

He had to pause again to take a moment to recollect himself.

_ I should probably stop with all that for now. I can fill pages with all my questions about asking how you are and then some. As for the apologies I much rather say those to your face and I'm sure you understand. You have always been such a sweet, caring boy._

_I guess you might want to hear more about how I am doing. I can't really say that my life has been all that exciting. I have officially joined my father's mercenary's company so now I am finally fighting along side him. Though he doesn't let me leave his side during battle. I have gotten a lot stronger and now those masked people no longer really pose a major threat to me. I finally have the strength that I have been seeking and yet…_

Dimitri noticed that the T in yet had been hard pressed as if she was struggling with what to say. He noticed that she just decided to just drop the idea all together. He knew that she wanted more than physical strength, but he didn't know what and he got the feeling that she hadn't found it yet either.

_ I have just now realized that this is my first ever letter to you. I always remembered you begging me to write to you, but I never did because there would have been no way for you to send me one. And yet I'm doing just that. It is nice though, I wish I wrote to you when I was younger._

_ As of this year I realized that all those etiquette classes have been engraved into me. I still sit, walk, and eat like a "proper lady". I thought such manners would have fallen off, but they didn't so maybe when I see you again, I won't be such an embarrassment. Though my speech is still terrible. I refuse to draw out and say unnecessary words when I speak and not even you can change that._

_ Besides being a mercenary and learning that I still have "manners" there hasn't been too much going on in my life. Oh wait, there has been one recent development! I met a boy and his name is... you know what I won't tell you his name so as to not spoil the surprise; as I'm sure you two will meet some day, if everything goes according to his plan. When you two do meet, I'm sure you two will get along fantastically! He's really great and I wish I could be the one to introduce you. _

Dimitri has no right to be jealous and yet he couldn't help himself. He wanted her to make friends and yet do they have to be other boys? Could she just not make more girl friends? She needs more of those.

Laughing softly to himself a smile worms its way onto his face. For two years he was numb to everything and in the span of just reading one letter from her he had gone through so many emotions; and that was just like her to make him do that. It was wonderful to be able to feel such things again.

_ I must end my letter shorter than I would like as Lord Rodrigue is leaving sooner than I expected. Maybe I shouldn't have saved yours for last? but I knew yours would be the longest and hardest to write…Aster, I miss you so much! I wish to see you with every fiber of my being! I don't know if you want to see me…But I never knew I could desire something so much…_

_ I have never been religious. I do not even know if I believe in the goddess or not but if praying to her will allow me to see you again than I will gladly pray to her every day. I just hope you are okay with allowing me to see you at least one more time. Please be well!_

_ Byleth Eisner_

Dimitri chuckled quietly as he covered his eyes with one of his hands. How could she believe that he didn't want to see her? She was all he wanted to see, to hear, to feel, to hold…

He looked over the letter one more time, his heart swelling at times and constricting at others. It seemed so unreal. Like a beautiful dream, even though all he had anymore were nightmares. And despite all his doubts he knew it to be real.

Setting the letter down he took in everything. A smile danced on his face as his eyes looked over the letter again. He suspected that he was going to be reading it a lot. A tinge of blue caught his eye from inside the envelope and he pulled out a pressed flower that he instantly recognized as an Aster flower, the gardens used to be filled with them until he had all of them and the jasmine flowers removed, after her supposed death.

Carefully folding the letter, he placed it back in the envelope but kept the flower out. He was about to open the top drawer of his desk to put the letter way but stopped as his focus landed on the last drawer. He had not opened that drawer in years. Momentarily, he forgot about putting the letter away and opened the last drawer and inside were but two items: his first ever gift from Byleth, the leather patch, and her dagger.

Hesitantly, he took out the items. After her death he threw them into the drawer and had not be able to bring himself to look at them ever since. He ran his thumb over the little leather patch and smiled at the familiar wear and tear of it. It had been once considered his lucky item, until he had discarded it in shame. It felt so right to be back in his hands.

His eyes landed softly on the dagger and he picked it up. He rested his head against the cool scabbard. The dagger had been given to him along with the horrible news of her murder and he grew to the hate the dagger because of that but now he would look at it with excitement because one day, he would get to return it to its rightful owner.

Carefully he placed the dagger and the letter in the top drawer and pocked the leather patch. Twirling the pressed aster flower between his fingers he left his room in search of Dedue. It had been a long while since he had a little pep in his step and he quickly became the talk of the castle as he made his way to his friend's room.

When Dedue didn't answer after the third knocking attempt, Dimitri dared to peek inside. Sitting at his desk was Dedue and he was starting down at the untouched envelope. Dimitri made his way over to Dedue, who had yet to become aware of his liege's presence.

"Is something wrong?" Dimitri asked once he was beside Dedue and watched in amusement as his friend leapt out of his seat.

"Your Highness?!" Dedue said at a much higher octave than he normally did. Dimitri would normally try to correct him on the title, but he had found the whole thing to be so amusing that he forgot to do so.

"You have not read the letter yet?" Dedue's sight returned to the envelope and he frowned.

"I am underserving of such a thing." Dimitri watched his friend carefully.

"I disagree." The taller man pressed his lips tightly together.

"But I'm the one-"

"By, is not one to hold grudges." The prince looked at the wall. His smile widened as he could easily imagine Byleth brushing aside Dedue's attempts to apologize. "I do not believe that she would blame you, just as I have not." Dedue said nothing and stared at the envelope. "I will not push you to read it, but I would like for you to at least consider reading it." The taller man still said nothing but nodded his head at the very least.

"In the meantime, I do have a request, if you do not mind." Dedue looked at his liege.

"Of course. If I can be of service than I will gladly do all that I can."

"My task is nothing so grand." Dimitri held up the pressed flower to direct Dedue's attention towards it. "If it is alright with you, my friend, I would like to fill the gardens with aster and jasmines again."

Dedue smiled at the request. "Of course. It would be my pleasure."

"May I request another flower?" His retainer nodded. "May we also add lilies?" Dedue looked at the prince, who's smile began to waiver a little. He understood asters and jasmines but not lilies. Byleth was alive, he couldn't understand.

Sensing his friend's confusion Dimitri spoke again to add clarity, "Though, I may have been numb to it that does not change the fact that I had stole lives during the rebellion." He remembered finding a locket of one of the men killed and he was ashamed at the indifference he felt then. He swore to himself that he would always remember that locket and the man to make up for his sins.

Dedue nodded. "It will be my pleasure to plant them, though I am afraid that I will have to wait until spring as it is to late in the season to do so now." Dimitri nodded in understanding, but he couldn't help but frown. "Is something wrong?"

"No…I…," Dimitri sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I guess I would just like to do something sooner for those that have died in the rebellion."

Dedue nodded again. "If I may," he paused to wait for permission before speaking again, "in Duscur we have a tradition of cooking a meal and leaving it out for the departed."

Dimitri nodded along as Dedue spoke. "That sounds like an old Faerghus tradition where we would go hunt in the departed's honor and then eat the hunt for them. Would you mind terribly if we were to combine the traditions?" Dedue shook his head. "Then my friend, would you care to join me for a quick hunt?"

"Gladly."

* * *

It was well into the night when Dimitri and Dedue finished the rite. The food that they left out for the departed was hidden in a seclusive section of the gardens so that no one would find it. Honoring such "traitors" would call into question the prince's character and thus the two did the rite in secret.

After wishing Dedue a good night, Dimitri rushed back to his room. In a great haste he dug around his desk for some parchment and ink as well as for Byelth's letter. He needed to write his letter as quickly as possible as he didn't know how long that she would be staying in Derdriu and well, he was also just excited at the very idea of just writing her a letter. Even though he was excited to write it, he knew he would have a difficult time writing it, just as Byleth struggled with hers.

_ Dear Beloved,_

Bright red, Dimitri quickly scribbled that out and tossed the piece of parchment away. He let out a quiet groan as he buried his face into his hands. It had been so long since he thought about his feelings for her and now, they were coming at him in full force, making him way to bold for his liking. Byleth might have wrote some powerfully romantic stuff near the end of her letter but he was sure, she didn't mean it that way and he was over here declaring his feelings. Groaning he rested his head on his desk and stared at the new blank parchment. Did Byleth even remember his confession?

Sitting up properly, he shook his head to dislodge the negative thoughts. He didn't have time to dwell on such negativity, nor did he want such feelings ruining his letter. She had been worried about him and he didn't need to make her think of the worse.

_ Dear By,_

_ Words can not expression the absolute joy, I feel at learning that you are alive and well. I wish that I could verify it with my own eyes, to feel your warmth against my skin and truly know that you are alive. Alas I will unfortunately have to make do with a letter. Do know that even just a letter was enough to brighten my dim life. Thank you ever so much for writing it._

_ By, I am so sorry for putting you in such a situation. I never meant to endanger you or to cause you such suffering. What I did…_

His hands began to tremble, and he had to stop writing before he could mess up the letter. Those words shouldn't be said on paper or so he believed but at that moment it was the best he could do, and he hated that. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down enough to finish writing.

_…it was inexcusable so please do not blame yourself. You have done absolutely nothing wrong. I am the one that should be begging you for forgiveness. Such words deserved to be said to your face. I should be prostrating myself at your feet and yet my uncle would rather coward behind a wretched lie and prevent me from doing so. Forgive me for not being strong enough to do anything about it. I swear to you that I will someday be strong enough to protect you!_

_ I am doing fine, please do not worry about me. Just focus on taking care of yourself as your safety means far more to me. As for not being my knight, well I will not lie just as you did, I am a little disappointed but not because I wanted you as my knight that was always just an excuse. I just want you by my side at all times. I do not feel complete without you._

Dimitir's face reddened again as he read, what he wrote. He couldn't tell if he was being too forward again, even if what he said was true. Even before his feelings for Byleth blossomed, he always felt a bit empty when she was gone. Ultimately, he decided to leave it in as he was sure she wouldn't see any deeper meaning into it; and that irked him a little.

_I am beyond delighted to discover that your sense of taste has returned to you. Mine, has yet to return but if yours has returned than maybe mine will one day too. I do very much miss the taste of food, especially when I was eating with you._

Yet again he wondered if he was being to forward and once again, he realized that she wouldn't even noticed.

_ I know you always wanted to join your father's mercenary company, but I must confess that I am not excited to hear about it. I do not want you getting hurt. I know you father is strong but…Will you promise me that you will be safe at least? _

_ It angers me greatly that those vile masked assailants are still attacking you! I wish I could run to your side right now and keep you safe! To wrap my arms around you and know that I would not let any foe lay a single finger on you!_

Okay, maybe that was being to forward. His quill hovered over the sentence, ready to scratch it out, but that would make the letter messy. He knew he could just rewrite the letter, but he already poured so much emotion into it. In the end, he decided to leave it in. He may not know how Byleth felt about his love, but he didn't want to hide it, especially when she had mentioned about meeting another boy.

_I am delighted to finally be able to write you a letter, even though this was never how I imagined to be doing so, but still, it excites me as well as the thought of you returning the letter with one of your own (only if you wish to write one). The fact that you have retained proper etiquette is amusing. I wonder if such engraved habits can be broken. I certainly have not tried but then again, I would never hear the end of it if I attempted to do so. _

Dimitri frowned down at his letter. He reached the point where it was time to comment about the boy, Byleth mentioned, and he didn't want too. Byleth deserved to make friends but he wasn't to pleased with her new friend being some unknown boy.

A sigh escaped him as he couldn't figure out what to say. He had no right to be jealous but…why was she so excited about that boy? And why did she decided to keep his name a mystery? And he was going to meet that boy one day because of his plan? How would they meet? And what kind of plan did the boy have? The questions irked him, and it didn't help that he had realized that Byleth had just turned eighteen and was surely even more beautiful than last he saw her and was probably having men throwing themselves at her.

A groan escaped him as he rested his head against his desk. Did she still remember his request? Will she still wait for him, even though he had so much to do? His head shot up as a terrifying thought entered his mind, did the mysterious boy's plan involve marrying Byleth? Where they engaged?! Was that how they were going to meet?! His heart sank as he deflated into his chair, until another thought entered his mind and that was if they were engaged would Byleth really refer to her fiancé as boy? Slowly his confidence returned as he realized that the mention of the boy sounded like a bit of an afterthought. Feeling much better he began to imagine the boy as nothing more than a young child.

His quill returned to the parchment and he scowled. While he decided that the boy was just that of a young boy that posed no real threat, he couldn't shake his fear completely, so he didn't know what to write. In the end he just chose to not talk about it.

_ I guess it's about time that I tell you how I am doing._

His quill hovered over the parchment as he tried to figure out what to write next. Should he tell her that he could still hear the voices and that they only got louder after he thought she was dead? No, that was something he didn't want to trouble her with. He then wondered if he should talk about some of the troubles plaguing the Kingdom and about the rebellion that he had to suppress. As much as he would want to hear such comforting words fromm her to still his troubled mind for taking a life, he didn't want to worry her anymore. Ultimately, he decided to just lie.

_I am doing just fine, especially learning that you are alive, so there is really no need for you to worry about me. My training with lances has gone splendidly that I think I might pose a real challenge to you. I hope we can meet real soon so that I can demonstrate it to you. As for my strength, I have gotten better at managing it; I have not broken anything in a while. _

_ Being a prince has kept me busy but Dedue has been a great help. His Fodlanese has improved greatly that I am sure you would be most proud of him. Now that your sense of taste has returned, you will need to try his cooking. I might not be able to taste it, but I have heard nothing but high praise for it. If Dedue was a woman I am sure that Sylvain would have fallen for him because of how good his cooking is, but then again Sylvain falls for every woman he meets. _

_ Just as you have struggled with things to say so am I. I have so many things I wish to say but writing them is not enough. I need to say them to your face. To see your reactions and to hear your immediately reply. I know I am being greedy, but a letter will never satisfy me._

_ By, I so very much wish to see you. I want to hold you, and whisper so many things to you. I hate how powerless I am. I beg of you for your forgiveness for being unable to protect you! I know I do not deserve your forgiveness as it is my own fault and cowardness that nearly cost you your life but I…I miss you ever so much!_

_ Please be well! I swear that I will one day come for you and protect you! This I swear!_

_ Love,_

_ Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd_

_ P.S. Thank you for the flower. And I will figure out a way to get your letter in secret so do not be afraid to send me one. _

* * *

When Dedue returned to his room, he stood next to his door for a bit starring at the letter on his desk. He didn't believe he deserved to be written one, not after what he had done. He was the one, who informed the knights to Byleth's presence two years ago. Prince Dimitri had forgiven him, stating that he did not know any better and that he was only trying to help her. But it would have been because of him that nearly gotten her killed, not his Highness; not that the prince would have accepted that.

Slowly, he walked over to the desk and put his candled down on it. The dim light illuminated the envelope and drew his attention more to it. Sucking in a deep breath he sat down and brushed his fingers over it. Finally, he worked up the courage to open the letter; if she had taken the time to write him one then the least, he could do was read it. After opening up the envelope several pressed flowers spilled out of it and carefully, he moved them to the side so that he wouldn't accidently crush them.

_Dear Dedue (I really hope that's how you spell your name as we never did go over that),_

_ I'm not dead! I have written that several times and it is still weird to write. I am sorry that I made you believe such a thing for so long, I only wished I knew sooner so that I could have tried to do something about it. _

_ How are you doing? Do nightmares still plague you? I hope you and Aster were able to overcome them or at least are able to help comfort each other. How are the castle staff treating you? Decently I hope; though I won't hold my breath. I hope that some of my tricks on dealing with them have helped. Forgive me for not being able to do more for you._

_ Finding stuff to say in a letter is hard…I have so much to say but none of it feels right to write. I guess, I'll just write that I am doing well and that there is no need to worry about me. I just want you and Aster to worry about each other. _

_ Dedue, may I ask a favor of you? I know that is selfish of me to make a request out of the blue, especially when I can't even return it, but can you please watch over Aster in my stead? I know I am asking for a lot. You surely have your own worries to focus on, but I have no one else to rely. You are the closest to him, I am sure of that. So, will you please indulge in my selfish wish? Of course, I do not want you to do this at the cost of your own care. Please take care of yourself, ignoring your pain will do no one any good; we are both aware of this. _

_ I have but one more thing to ask of you, do not worry it is a small request, but would you like to be my friend? I know we didn't get to meet in the most ideal situation, but I would still like to be your friend, if that is alright with you. And if you will allow me to be your friend, may I call you Oak? You are so strong that I believe that is a fitting name for you but if you would like to a flower than I can think up a better name. Please be well, my friend!_

_ Byleth Eisner_

_P.S. I gave everyone a pressed flower based of their name but giving you a stick or leaf seemed weird so I hope you like the flowers as I couldn't decide on just one to give. _

Dedue sat back in his chair staring at the letter. He was the one swimming in guilt and the one that needed to apologize and yet she was the one apologizing; asking for forgiveness because she felt like she was putting too much work on him, when all she asked was for him to look after her friend. A small smile grew on his lips at the memory of her. It was true that they did not meet in the most ideal way, but her kindness shined through those darkened days and she helped him to find the desire to live.

He truly understood why his lord cared for her so much.

* * *

_Dear Poppy,_

_ There's so much to say but I guess I should start with the fact that I am not dead. Surprise! Let me tell you writing to someone that you are not dead is weird. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner, but I had no idea that everyone thought that I was dead._

_ I don't know how much my circumstance is known so I will give a brief summary. There is a rumor stating that I am some how responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur because of that I have been banished from the Kingdom by Lord Rufus, partially for my protection. I have also been forbidden from having any contact with any of you._

_ Enough about that. How are you? Are you doing alright? Everything must have changed after the tragedy but I'm sure you have been a strong pillar for everyone? You were always so dependable for that. Thank you for that. I wish I could help. I'm sure it must have been incredibly stressful, please don't ware yourself out. I know the pressure to be someone's strength is incredibly difficult and can be all consuming but please don't forget to take care of yourself as well. If you collapse it will do no one any good, I had to learn that the hard way. _

_ Poppy, I have met Miklan a few months ago. He seemed different. Much more hateful and the people he was traveling with were dangerous. Are you alright? He isn't still hurting you, is he? Poppy, it is not your fault! It is not your responsibility to take his abuse! Please take care of yourself and know that you are more than just your crest. _

_I want you to know that I miss you very much! Please be well and could you please watch over the others for me? I know that is a lot to ask but you are the only one I can really count on. But again, do not push yourself to hard! Do not mask your pain for the sake of others, it will only eat you alive. Please be well, my friend! _

_ Byleth Eisner_

Sylvain leaned back into his chair, one of his hands covering his face. He sucked in a deep breath and tired to fight back his tears. The tears fell regardless, and his smile twitched. Giving into his emotions, he pulled his hand away to attempt to look at the letter with his blurred vision.

"By, you know men are not supposed to cry. Ladies do not really like it…," he said with a shaky voice, not even believing his own words. "Ah hell," he sat back in his chair and covered his eyes with one hand again. "For you, it is alright to cry. I am sure you would be telling me that anyway."

* * *

_Dear Daisy,_

_I'm alive! I have written that before and it is still weird to write. I hope my supposed death did not trouble you to much, and if it did, I apologize. I wish I knew about my supposed death sooner so that I could have done something to alleviate your sadness. _

_I am so sorry about Glenn. He was a great man and I miss him terribly. As cruel as this may sound, I hope you were able to move on from his death. Glenn wouldn't want us to linger on his death; he would want us to move past it and find a new happiness. I write this and yet it is something I am struggling to do… But I believe in you, you are a strong and bright girl. I can't wait to see what a fierce knight you have become when next we meet. I hope we can meet soon!_

_How are you and your family? I hope everyone is well. I am fine. I have become a mercenary. It is a hard job and I've come to understand why my father is so exhausted at times, but I enjoy the work. I have helped people that society has turned their backs on as well as meet interesting people. I get the feeling that maybe you would like the job, but a knight fits you far better so keeping working towards that. A knight's job is honest work and you will be far more respected than any mercenary. _

_I will admit, I am lonely without you all, but I am doing fine at least. Please do not worry about me. I miss you all so much, I hope that you all will support each other in my absences. And don't let those boys walk over you. Show them what a strong, female knight is capable of!_

_ Byleth Eisner_

"Ingrid why are you crying?" a young man asked peeking into Ingrid's room. Ingrid was slumped over her desk crying and at the sound of her brother's voice she perked up.

Rising to her feet, she stumbled over to her brother. Wrapping her arms around him she continued to cry and mumble something incoherent. When her point didn't get across, she pointed at her desk.

Getting a little annoyed, her brother gently shoved her off of him so he could walk to the desk with ease. He gave the letter a quick glance over before looking back at his sister. She had calmed down some, but she was still a mess, in his opinion.

"Byleth is alive!" she cried.

* * *

Felix was the last to receive his letter and Rodrigue had been almost as excited to give it to his son as he was for the prince. Just like with the prince he found his son in the training grounds. The father's steps broke the stillness of the air and his son, stopped his swings to stand straight but didn't face him.

"What do you want?" Felix spat but never looked at his father.

Rodrigue fought back a sigh and smiled. "I heard you distinguished yourself in the recent battle," Rodrigue said and his son still didn't spare him a glance.

"Of course. It was kill or be killed and I refuse to die a foolish death like some knight." The Duke frowned but made no comment to that.

The father coughed into his hands before he spoke, "I brought you a gift in celebration." Finally, his son glanced at him from over his shoulder. The envelope was held out and Felix flickered his eyes between the envelope and his father.

Without uttering a word Felix snatched the envelope and opened it with his back towards his father. A smile formed on the father's face when he heard a gasp escape from his son. Felix finally faced his father and the scowl that had planted itself on his face for the last two years, struggled to keep its hold.

"She is alive. I met her in Derdriu," Rodrigue happily said. Without saying anything, Felix pushed passed his father and left the area and a sigh escaped the older man.

_ Dear Canna,_

_ I am not dead! Shocking I know! …Joking about it doesn't make it any less weird to write. I am sorry that I went so long without correcting the misunderstanding, I had no idea that you all were under such belief that I was dead; but I fear that that is not a satisfying answer to hear. I am sorry, I had been forbidden from having any contact with any of you but maybe I should have taken the risk._

_ I am so sorry about Glenn. I don't even know where to start. He was a wonderful person. He was someone I truly admired, and I wish I could have gotten to know him more. The pain I feel for his loss is intense…I can't even imagine what you must be feeling. I wish I could be there for you. I am sorry for being so weak and helpless. _

_ This might be cruel to say but don't linger on his death. Glenn wouldn't want that. He would want us to be marching forward and remembering him fondly… I feel like a hypocrite for saying that, when I seem to be struggling to move on. But you are strong, and you knew Glenn far better than I, so I am sure you have already made him proud and marched forward. _

_ I hope you are doing well. I am doing fine, do not worry about me. Because I am unable to be there for you all, I hope that you are able to help each other. Don't abandon each other because life is cruel, but it is easier with others that is something I have only learned recently. _

_ Be well and know that I miss you so very much. _

_ Byleth Eisner_

Felix stared down at the letter and smiled. Things had been going horrible as of late, but that letter helped to settle him a bit. His eyes were misty, but he didn't shed a tear.

"I knew you were alive," he said to no one. "There was no way you would die in such a pathetic way."

**Horsebow Moon 1178:**

**Sixteenth of the Horsebow Moon:**

It had been a little over a month since Dimitri first got a letter from Byleth and two weeks since he mailed his and he had been eagerly waiting for her reply. Everyday his walk had a little pep in it and all the servants and knights were happy to comment on it. His smiled seemed to be permanently engraved on his face and he was completely okay with that.

When he received letters from Sylvain and Ingrid sharing the news of their letters, he had become even more ecstatic. He didn't receive a letter from Felix, despite being completely sure that Byleth wrote him one. He knew that something had happened between him and Felix during the rebellion, but he didn't know what; he hoped that in time their relationship would return to the way it once was.

Another day was coming to an end and the maid, who he had asked to assist with his letters, had yet to share any news about receiving a letter. He knew that he was being impatient as two weeks would be pushing travel on just arriving in the Alliance, let alone its capital, but still, he couldn't help himself; it had been so long since he was excited for something.

Dimitri sat in his room with Dedue reviewing some documents about the rebellion that had happened a few weeks ago. Disappointment was etched on his face for several different reasons. With a heavy sigh he sat back in his chair and looked at Dedue, who was brewing some tea. Watching Dedue pour the tea reminded him of the tea parties he used to have with Byleth and how he missed them; he laughed when he realized how his younger self would be appalled at such a thought.

"Is something wrong, Your Highness?" Dedue asked as he brought over a cup of tea and Dimitri frowned at him.

"Yes," Dimitri said and looked back at the documents. "My name is Dimitri, not 'Your Highness'." From the corner of his eyes, he saw Dedue squirm a little. "Relax my friend." The taller man did not, and the prince sighed.

"My issue is with these." Dimitri gestured to the various papers spread across his desk. "The rebellion only happened because the people are displeased with Lord Biseon's inability to provide support from all the recent bandit attacks and it didn't help that their harvest last year was poor and that the lord didn't plan for such a thing." He sat back in his chair and scowled at the roof. "The rebellion is understandable and yet Lord Biseon goes unpunished."

Dedue placed the cup of tea down on the table, grabbing the prince's attention. "If we can't punish the lord can we at least send aid to the people?" Dimitri smiled at his friend as he sat properly.

"That is what I am trying to do but so many fools are claiming that the rebels should be punished." With a sigh, Dimitri rubbed his tired eyes. "Do those fools not realize that they would only cause another rebellion?"

Dedue opened his mouth to speak, when a knock at the door silenced him. The two exchanged looks before the older man left to open the door. Once the door was open Rufus walked in with a scowl on his face. Dimitri was quick to get onto his feet and greet his uncle.

"Dear uncle it is late. To what do I owe this pleasure too?" Dimitri asked with years of etiquette drilled into him.

Rufus said nothing and presented a piece of parchment to his nephew. With a quick glance, Dimitri's eyes widen when he recognized the handwriting on the parchment. He reached out to grab it only for the older man to pull it away from his grasps.

"That is mine!" Dimitri shouted in a panic and Rufus narrowed his eyes on him.

"How long have you been exchanging letters with her?" Rufus asked and Dimitri gritted his teeth.

"I have only sent her one," Dimitri admitted after a moment of silence.

"Good that should be enough for you then."

"What?"

"I have already sent her a letter reminding her of our agreement."

"Why? What is so wrong for us to be exchanging letters?!"

Rufus glared at his nephew. "You will do well to not raise your voice at me again." Clenching his fists tightly, Dimitri bite his bottom lip to silence himself. "As for your question, you know exactly why. Having any contact with her will only damage your reputation."

"She had nothing-"

"You do not need to remind me. I saw just how far her idiotic devotion to you will go." Dimitri bit his lip so hard that he could feel the warmth of blood spilling into his mouth. "You have tormented her enough do you not agree?" The prince couldn't say anything to that. "Leave the poor girl alone." Dimitri hung his head and was no longer paying attention to his uncle, so Rufus handed the letter off to Dedue.

The door shutting rang loudly in the still room. Dimitri didn't budge from his spot as he glared at the floor. He was only vaguely aware of Dedue standing by his side.

After two years, he finally got a bit closer to her, only for her to be ripped away from him again and in just a span of few weeks too; he couldn't even properly enjoy the renewed hope. Why was fate so cruel to him? But maybe his uncle was right, maybe it was best for Byleth that he didn't have any contact with her. After all everything terrible that happened in her life could be traced back to him. He believed that but he didn't want to accept it. He still wanted to see her, despite everything.

"You robbed us of our lives and that is not good enough?" he could hear his stepmother's voice in the back of his head. "Must you try and ruin another life? So selfish!"

"You do not deserve such happiness!" It was Glenn's turn to mock him. "Byleth should have been with me. I would have done a much better job at taking care of her than you have."

He sank to the floor and covered his ears in a desperate attempt to drown out the next voice. "Byleth should have been my child instead of you," sneered his father's voice. "She would have already given us our revenge, unlike you, you pathetic coward!"

He squeezed his head and yet the voices persisted. A light touch on his shoulder managed to break him out of his torment. Dedue said nothing and just presented the letter to his liege. With shaky hands, Dimitri took the letter. Desperately, he tried to drown out the voices by focusing on the letter.

_ Dear Aster,_

_ To receive your letter, brought me a level of joy that I didn't know I was capable of feeling. Thank you ever so much for that. And thank you for forgiving me. You begged me for forgiveness when there was no need to do such a thing, but since you forgave me, I shall do the same. Though, do know that I will always forgive you!_

_ I will not lie being trapped in your room was horrible, but I no longer blame you. I understand your actions and I might have done the same in your position so please do not trouble yourself with guilt over it anymore. I would do the same, if I had to again, though I might change a few things if I could. _

_You can rest easy; my father makes sure that I am safe in every battle. It is almost annoying with how much he worries over me, but don't ever tell him that I told you that as he is weirdly sensitive, but I wouldn't have him any other way. And thanks to all the battles that I have participated in, I've grown to be quite a fierce fighter but if you are still up for a challenge than I will gladly face you when next we meet, which I hope is soon. _

_Don't you worry about those masked people, I have gotten better at dealing with them. I will be fine, I promise. And that is a promise I will keep! _

_I am so happy to learn that you are doing well. I had started to fear the worse when Lord Rodrigue lied but maybe I just misread him? And here I thought I was getting better at reading people thanks to my new friend. Oh well, I shall have a lot more to learn and that was something that I was glad to be wrong in. That is an exciting thought, it has been quite awhile since I have been excited about something. And thanks to these letters that we can exchange, it seems I will always be excited!_

_I am glad to hear that you and Dedue are getting along greatly, that was the one thing I didn't worry about as I knew you two would become great friends. To hear that he might be a great cook is surprising. I hope I get to try his cooking real soon. You know I love a good meal._

_As much as I love being able to write you a letter, I must admit it has not dampened my desire to see you. Just as you desire to verify with your own eyes that I am okay, so do I feel the same. Having to settle for letters is so frustrating but I guess it is better than nothing. _

_When Lord Rufus had informed me that I would not be allowed to have any contact with you or our friends I was devastated, but if my letters are becoming harmful please do let me know. I will stop writing them and I won't complain. I do not want to be a burden. I will understand so please do not trouble yourself with my feelings. _

_I know it has only been a few weeks, but I still hope that you are well, and I still miss you._

_ Love,_

_ Byleth Eisner_

Dimitri punched the floor so hard that cracks formed, and he didn't care. Tears of frustration fell from his eyes as a curse slip through his lips. Rising onto his feet he turned away from Dedue and silently clenched and unclenched his fists. When his anger still remained, he threw a punch at the wall but stopped just short of actually connecting.

"It is not fair!" he shouted as he sank back down to the floor.

**Twenty-Ninth of the Horsebow Moon:**

Byleth walked into the Lazy Deer Inn smiling. Ever since she got her first letter from Dimitri, she had been in an excellent mood that had confused Claude because she wouldn't tell him as to what caused it. Reuniting with her father had only added to her joy. Her joy seemed to have no end until it was time for her to part with Claude and she wasn't looking forward to tomorrow because of it. She did feel a bit guilty that she was still excited for possibly receiving another letter from Dimitri before she left Derdriu.

The innkeeper gave her a lazy nod before handing her an envelope. She tried to contain her excitement by trying to nicely grab the envelope, instead of snatching it. She gave the innkeeper a gold coin as thanks before joining her father at a table, who was enjoying a nice breakfast.

She barely acknowledged her father as the envelope held her full attention. Across the envelope was the words, "Miss Eisner" in a handwriting that she did didn't recognize. The smile slipped away, and she carefully opened the letter.

_ Dear Miss Eisner,_

_ It pleases me to know that you are alive. I wish to make it clear that I never had any intentions to send you to your death that night. Had I known such assailants had been lurking around, I would have waited for your father before releasing you. Regardless, I am still an unwilling participant to such an assault and for that you have my deepest apologies. _

_ For my lack of insight to the attack, I am willing to overlook the fact that you have broken our agreement and sent a letter to my nephew. This will be the only time I will forgive such an offense. If I discover another one of your letters I will respond accordingly. _

_ Other than that, I wish you well. Move on from the castle and Prince Dimitri, your friendship was something that should have never happened, and my brother was cruel for fostering it. You two live in two completely different worlds and in the end, you would only have gotten hurt. My words may be cruel, but I speak the truth. You will be much happier if you live your life free from the castle's shackles and misguided hope. _

_ Sincerely,_

_ Rufus Bain Blaiddyd_

Byleth quickly tore up the letter as well as the new letter she had just written to inform Dimitri to send future letters to Remire village. She glared at the shredded pieces of parchment in silence. She didn't acknowledge her father when he tired to figure out what was wrong. She couldn't understand why fate would allow them the chance to communicate only for it to quickly isolate them. Was it really such a cruel mistress?

* * *

The reason why Byleth started some of her letters with a joke about being alive was because of Claude. He believed it would help break the ice.

Smash Bros actually stole an idea that I was going to play with in later chapters…I'm not to sure how I feel about that.

How do you guys feel about Byleth being added in Smash? I will be honest I did not want Byleth. I would have liked almost anyone over another FE representative, and I would have much preferred Dimitri or Claude over Byleth as I feel they would be more original to play as but oh well.


	16. Chapter 16

I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. It wasn't because I didn't know what to write about but just getting me to sit down and write it. I hope it's not terrible.

Ages:

Byleth: 20

Dimitri: 17

Claude: 17

Edgelgard: 17

* * *

**Wyvern Moon 1179:**

Dimitri stood in front of his uncle's desk, as Rufus looked over the documents that he presented. The silenced had settled over them for some time and Dimitri dared to look out the window that faced the castle's gates. Four years ago, he would have been running to the gates in excitement but now he could only look at them in disappointment.

"Garreg Mach really?" Rufus asked and brought Dimitri's attention back to him. The older man sat the documents down to look at his nephew as he sat back. "You never showed an interest in attending the school before and now you are suddenly telling me that you are going and have already completed all the necessary paperwork." Saying nothing Dimitri gave a small nod. Leaning forward Rufus rested his head on his clasped hands and narrowed his eyes. "Does this have something to do with meeting a certain someone?"

Dimitri stiffened a little. As much as he would love for that, he knew it would be impossible. "No," the prince finally spoke. He wanted to look back out the window but stopped himself. "Sir Jeralt, is quite distrustful of the church. There is no way that he would allow his daughter to go anywhere near there." His uncle continued to stare at him, but he didn't flinch.

Seemingly satisfied, Rufus dismissed the prince with a wave of his hand. "Fine, I will give you permission to attend but you must bring your retainer with you. The castle will do well to not have a Duscur man within it." Dimitri clenched his fists but said nothing.

Giving his uncle a grand bow, Dimitri excused himself. Just outside the office was Dedue, who was waiting patiently. Silently, Dedue followed his liege's steps as they swiftly walked away.

"I have been given permission," Dimitri said once they were a good distance away from the office. He glanced at Dedue from over his shoulder. "You will be joining me." Dedue halted and Dimitri gave him a small smile. "I think leaving Faerghus for some time will do you some good."

"I will gladly follow you anywhere," Dedue said with a firm nod.

Dimitri smiled before continuing on. "The path I walk will be a difficult one and if everything goes according to plan than my path will become even more treacherous. Will you still follow me then?"

"Without hesitation."

Dimitri stared at the outside world from a nearby window. He did not wish to put Dedue in danger, but it was nice to have an alley. "You are a good friend," the prince said, once he turned to face Dedue. "Come we will have much to prepare in the coming months."

**Guardian Moon 1180:**

**First of the Guardian Moon:**

Dimitri took a deep breath before entering the classroom. He put on a princely smile when a small commotion broke out from the few students that were already there. He and Dedue had tried to sit at the front of the class in peace but the other students wouldn't have it and were quick to swarm them.

Ever polite and the good little prince as he always tried to be Dimitri answered all questions with a smile, a smile that he knew that Byleth would hate. She was the only one to ever comment on his "princely smile" and he was always afraid if people could tell if it was fake but no one else ever said anything about it so he tired to not worry about it, but the fear was always rooted in the back of his mind. When question after question bombarded him, his smile never wavered.

Dedue was starting to give into all the people and Dimitri was ready to speak up, when a loud voice broke through the crowd. "Your Highness?!" Sylvain shouted as he rushed over to the prince, causing the group of students to part. "Why did you not say anything about attending?!" Dimitri just flashed his fake smile. "Now it all makes sense as to why my old man was pushing me so much to attend this year."

"Getting permission from my uncle was hard and I did not want to say anything less he changed his mind," the prince lied. His uncle didn't care what he did so long as it didn't damage his reputation. He just didn't want to get his friends involved with potentially dangerous things, but he now feared that might be possible.

"Felix and Ingrid are going to be excited to know that they will be attending class with you." At the mention of Felix, Dimitri's smile wavered for but a moment. He still didn't know what he did to damage his relationship with Felix. He only hoped that he would not ruin his friend's time here.

As if on cue both Felix and Ingrid walked in. Unaware of the prince's inner turmoil, Sylvain waved down the two friends, who walked over. When Felix's eyes landed on Dimitri, he tsked very loudly.

"Great, so the Boar decided to attend," Felix growled out as he glared at Dimitri. Dimitri struggled to maintain his smile.

"Felix!" Ingrid shouted. "That is no way to speak to his Highness!" Once again, the prince's smiled wavered. He wished for his friends to call him by his name but shortly after the Tragedy they began to speak to him formerly. He felt so distant and alone from them when they used his title, and in a strange way he was happy that Felix dropped such formalities, even if it was just venomous insults.

"Apologize right this minute!" Ingrid demanded and Felix scoffed as loudly as he could, ignoring both Sylvain and Ingrid shouting his name.

"It is alright," Dimitri was quick to say in hopes of dropping the topic.

"But still," Sylvain mumbled looking over at Felix, who sat as far away as he could. "Why is he acting like that?" Dimitri said nothing.

Despite the use of his title, Felix's distance, and his apprehension to possibly getting his friends involved, he still found it nice to be talking to his friends again as it had been quite some time for all of them to be together. Everything was mostly going smoothly but he could tell that Ingrid was still weary of Dedue. He didn't like such distrust, but he was at least appreciative that she was being civil, unlike so many.

Sylvain whistled loudly and everyone looked towards the entrance that he was looking at and saw two women walked in. Both Dimitri and Ingrid gave the older man a sideways glare and if he noticed, he didn't show it. Giving his friends a cheeky smile, Sylvain excused himself and his two friends sighed.

Silently, both Dimitri and Ingrid made an agreement and followed their ginger haired friend, who was now chatting with the two girls. Dedue remained in his seat as to avoid any more attention being drawn to him and Dimitri couldn't blame him for that. When Dimitri and Ingrid arrived at the entrance, they were able to see the two women more clearly. One was a taller, soft-spoken woman with light brown hair and light purple eyes. Dimitri instantly decided that she was too sweet to be dealing with Sylvain's nonsense, so he intervened.

"Prince Dimitri?!" the other girl suddenly shouted, and he jumped at the unexpectedness of it. With slightly red cheeks, she covered her mouth and gave a small bow. Her orange hair was tied up in little circles and she had grey-blue eyes. He couldn't remember from where he saw her, but Dimitri couldn't shake the air of familiarity that surrounded her.

Maintaining, his professional smile he bowed to both women. "Please do forgive my friend for his rudeness and any trouble he may have caused you."

"Hey, I was not being- Ow!" Sylvain was interrupted by Ingrid pulling on his ear.

The soft-spoken woman laughed softly. "Oh, it is quite alright. Sometimes it is nice to be called beautiful," she said with a gentle smile. Sylvain tried to comment on that, but Ingrid wasn't having it.

"He did not do anything wrong," the other girl commented. "Oh, I am Annette Fantine Dominic." She bowed a little too eagerly and Dimitri nodded as he now understood the familiarity.

"And I am Mercedes von Martritz," Mercedes said with a graceful curtsy. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

Everyone quickly fell into a pleasant chat. Dimitri could tell that the girl, Annette, wanted to say something but after every time he tried to prompt her, she would just get flustered and switch subjects. After the third attempt he decided to just stop trying for the poor girl's sake.

"Ex-excuse me but you guys are blocking the entrance," came a meek voice from behind Dimitri.

"Oh, pardon me," Dimitri said as he stepped aside and gave a small bow. "Do please forgive me for my rudeness."

"Prince Dimitri?!" shouted the grey-haired boy, when he finally laid eyes on the prince. "Oh no! I am the one at fault! Please forgive me for being so rude!" He then started bowing deeply and seemed to have no intention of ending it.

"Please it is alright. I was the one at fault." The boy did not raise his head. "Please raise your head."

"I couldn't do something so rude as to raise my head to the crown prince!"

Dimitri looked back at his friends for support, who merely shrugged their shoulders at him. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulders and the boy flinched, so he quickly pulled back his hand. Apologies were quickly shared between the two men before a sigh finally escaped the prince.

Before more apologies could be spilled, the sound of someone clearing their throat silenced the two. Both men, looked up to see an older man with square framed glasses glaring down at them. Dimitri and the boy stepped aside so that the man with dark brown hair may pass. The man spared them no other glances as he walked up to the front of the class.

Dimitri sighed as he realized that he did not make a good first impression with his professor; not that his professor made one with him. He turned to the boy, who was staring at the teacher with wide green eyes. Noticing the prince's stare, the boy turned back to look at him and Dimitri was finally able to see the boy's freckles that dotted his cheeks.

"I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. We are going to be fellow classmates so I hope we can get along," Dimitri said with a small bow and watched in amusement as the boy began to fluster.

"I am Ashe Ubert," the boy said with another over the top bow. "I will do my best to not get in your way!"

Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, only for the professor to silence him by once again clearing his throat. Fighting back a sigh with his princely smile, he gave Ashe another small bow before returning to his seat. Once at his seat the professor gave him a quick glance before addressing the rest of the class.

"I am professor Alister Biseon and I shall be in charge of the Blue Lions," the professor said as he looked over his students. He paused as if he was waiting for something and when that thing didn't happen, he tsked, loudly. "My expertise lies in lances and horseback, fitting for a Kingdom Knight." He paused again and once again he tsked, loudly. "I am skilled in other areas so do not worry; I will be able to teach you all properly on many different subjects."

Frowning at his silent class he looked over his notes. Briefly his eyes flickered over to Dimitri before going back to his notes. He flipped through a few pages before looking back at the class.

"Our first order of business will be to decide on our class leader but since we have the crown prince in class it only makes sense to appoint His Highness."

"Wait a minute," Dimitri interjected and for that he received a small sideways glare from the professor. "I do not mind being the representative, but it is unfair to just automatically make me the representative when someone else might want to do it."

Purposely sighing loudly, the professor looked over the class. "Would anyone like to be the class leader over the crown prince?" Dimitri bit his lower lip to prevent himself from saying anything as he was quite annoyed at how his professor over enunciate the words "crown prince". When no one obviously spoke up the professor just gave Dimitri an annoyed gesture.

"I will gladly represent the Blue Lions." He didn't want to do it. As it would place unnecessary work on him that would only get in the way of why he came to Garreg Mach; and he was sure that his professor was going to give him a lot of work. His princely smile became strained under the cheers.

* * *

Just as Dimitri feared a lot pointless work would be dumped on him. He could tell that his professor was more than eager to give him as much work as possible; he assumed it was the professor's small attempt at revenge for the prince blaming his father's incompetency for the rebellion two years ago. With a heavy sigh he returned to his room, late into the evening thanks to the meetings that all the professors and representatives had to attend. It was going to be a long year, he quickly realized but he was okay with that as it was great to be away from the castle's oppressive walls.

Finally, alone, he sat at his desk. He stared into nothing as everything settled in. He was finally working towards his revenge that he had desired for so long. Taking a deep breath he opened a drawer to pull out some parchment to jot down his ideas but stopped when he spied Byleth's dagger.

His focus quickly shifted towards the weapon. It was expertly crafted blade, from a famous blacksmith that lived over a hundred years ago. The dagger was worth quite a fortune and he couldn't help but wonder how Jeralt got his hands on such a prized item.

Carefully he unsheathed the dagger and enjoyed the nice shine of it. Byleth had taken such great care of it and he tried to do the same, but he could never bring himself to polish it as well as she did. To see his reflection in it, sickened him.

He held up the dagger and the setting sun's light reflected nicely off of it. Now that he was free of Faerghus he could write her all the letters that he wanted but he had no idea where to send them. It was such a frustrating thought.

He returned the dagger to its scabbard and placed it on his desk. By the end of the year, he would be old enough to take the throne and then he would have the power that he needed to protect her. Tapping the end of the dagger, he absentmindedly lost himself to the sound it made. Before he could take the throne, he needed to get his revenge first. But once he did that, once everything was settled and he was crowned king, he would find her and if she would allow it, he would gladly have her at his side again.

He had one year to set everything into motion.

**Third of the Guardian Moon:**

Sleeping had been something that had long since eluded Dimitri, so he didn't see any other reason than to arrive early at his classroom. Positive that his professor was going to have more work to give him, he arrived even earlier than he had originally planned too. But he had arrived sooner than the professor, not that he was surprised. Not wanting for Dedue to waste his time waiting with him, the prince ushered his friend away so that he may check out the green house. He then decided to just wait in the classroom and enjoy the quiet before his fellow classmates came.

"Perfect," a voice broke through the stillness of the room. Dimitri quickly spun around to see a tanned skin, young man walking towards him. He quickly realized that the young man was Claude, the recent heir to the Alliance. "Just the person I was hoping to find."

Dimitri quickly got onto his feet and bowed, and it was laughed off by Claude. "There really is no need for such formalities, your Kingliness." Dimitri gave the other man a quizzical look.

"What can I do for you, Lord Claude?" Dimitri asked and Claude made a face of disgust.

"Please, just Claude is fine." The blond nodded as he was finding the casualness to be refreshing. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question." Dimitri nodded and gestured for Claude to continue. "Great, by any chance do you know of a woman named-"

"There you are!" a loud voice interrupted, and Claude couldn't hide his annoyance for a moment. "I have been looking everywhere for you. You will not be escaping me this time!"

"Lorenz! How good of you to join us." Claude stepped to the side so that Dimitri was clearly visible.

"Prince Dimitri?! Please forgive me for my rudeness!" Lorenz was quick to bow.

"Peace, it is quite alright. Lor-" he spotted the look of annoyance on Claude's face before catching himself. "Claude was just asking me a question."

"You know what, I change my mind," Claude said as he threw his hands behind his head. Dimitri arched an eyebrow while Lorenz glared at him.

"Do not be wasting Prince Dimitri's precious time!" Lorenz scolded and the Alliance heir very obviously rolled his eyes, much to the purple haired man's annoyance.

"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked as he tried very hard to ignore the hostility before him. "You seemed like you wanted to know if I knew someone."

"I do, but I realized that it would not be fair to her if I go behind her back to figure out her secrets." The prince tilted his head and Claude smiled at him. "Sorry, for taking up your time."

"No, it is alright. I will be happy to answer your question any time if you ever change your mind."

**Great Tree Moon 1180:**

**First of the Great Tree Moon:**

"You all must be wondering why we have requested your presence?" A tall man with mid-length green hair and piercing green eyes asked. In his short time there, Dimitri learned that that man, Seteth, could be quite intimidating but was a very reasonable man.

Dimitri along with the other two class representatives, Claude and Edelgard, and his professor stood in the audience chamber along with Seteth and the Archbishop. He had the pleasure of only meeting the Archbishop a few times, but he couldn't help but think that she was incredibly beautiful, and she was the only other woman that he ever thought that about.

"It has been some time since Garreg Mach had all heirs at the school at the same time. To celebrate such a momentous moment, we would like for you three to take part in a ceremony at Rhodes Coast."

"It would be an honor to take part in such an event," Dimitri said with a small bow.

"Leaving the monastery for some time?" Count me in," Claude said and rested his hands behind his head and ignored Seteth's glare.

"I believe such a ceremony is a wonderful idea," Edelgard said. "I will be happy to participate."

"Excellent," the Archbishop chimed in with an enchanting smile. "The ceremony shall take place on the twenty first of this month. On the night of the full moon." The three heirs nodded.

"Professor Biseon since you are from the Kingdom, we have given you the honor of over seeing the ceremony," Seteth stepped in to further explain. "See to it that you do not disappoint us."

"I will see to it that the ceremony goes off without any problems," Biseon said with a bow.

"Good, you will depart from the monastery a week before, do make sure you are all prepared before you depart."

**Seventeenth of the Great Tree Moon:**

Byleth stared at her topless self in the mirror and frowned. Many scars had marked her body in the four years since she joined her father's mercenary company, but she didn't care about that; oh no, her issue lied with her crest as she could have sworn that it had grown larger. Her finger traced over the edges of her crest and it felt hot to the touch.

For the past few days, she felt like the area around her crest was on fire and despite the pain she at least learned to deal with it. On top of burning and the possible expansion she also dreamt about the little girl on the throne ever night for the past two weeks straight. She had only ever dreamt about the girl after her crest activated but it had been some time since its last activation. She had brought up the sudden changes to her father, but he was understandably perplexed.

Giving her crest's reflection one final glare before she threw on a top, she looked around her small room in her home. Her focus soon shifted to her desk, where a piece of parchment and ink waited for her. She was long overdue to send Claude a letter and she was sure that he probably sent her another letter complaining about that or was at least close to doing so. Walking over to her desk she wondered if she should even bother with writing one as she would be leaving for Dredriu very soon.

**Nineteenth of the Great Tree Moon:**

Dimitri had been traveling with his professor, fellow class leaders, and a squadron of knights for a few days now. Despite the travel being easy and peaceful, he couldn't shake a strange feeling that had been plaguing him that entire day. He feared that the feeling might have to do with something terrible happening to Dedue at the monastery as the people at the monastery hadn't been as welcoming as the prince would have liked. Sylvain had promised him to watch over Dedue but the prince knew that there would be little Sylvain would be able to do if a knight had taken an offense to Dedue, even if it was for a foolish reason.

When evening settled and camp had been made, the feeling still persisted and he decided to not see the feeling as a terrible one as it didn't necessarily leave him feeling uneased and he wanted to give himself some peace of mind before it would be time to go to bed as he wasn't too keen on have an exceptionally, terrible nightmare in a closed nit camp. In an attempt to ignore the feeling, he sat in front of the fire and let the warmth wash over him. He was enjoying his little peace until Claude sat down next to him and was soon followed by Edelgard.

Smiles were exchanged before Claude opened a map, rather loudly. Humming, he ignored both Dimitri's and Edelgard's questions. After some time, he began to hum even louder, still ignoring his classmates, but did react when professor Biseon finally asked in annoyance.

"According to this map we are so very close to Remire village," Claude said but never looked up from his map.

"So?" Edelgard asked and was subsequently ignored.

"What about that tiny village?" professor Biseon asked with a sigh.

"I am glad you asked Teach!" Claude ignored the glare from Edelgard. "I was hoping we could stop at it on our way back."

"We are on a tight schedule, remember?" Dimitri asked and it was his turn to be ignored; though by that point he wasn't really expecting anything.

"And why should we stop there?" professor Biseon asked and was completely annoyed.

"Because I possibly know someone that is staying there, and I would just love to pay her a surprise visit!" The professor glared at him and just like with everything else he ignored it.

"How do you know someone from the Empire?" Edelgard asked, despite her looking like she had no expectations.

"I know many people, Princess!" Edeglard's eyes widen slightly before settling into a small scowl. "But if you must know, she has no ties to any country. She is a mercenary."

Dimitri froze and the conversation slowly faded into silence as he focused on what Claude just said, a female mercenary. He clenched his fists tightly as a hope he was afraid to foster blossomed inside. The chances of it being her were incredibly slim and yet…The chance to possibly see her again…

"You okay there Your Kingliness?" Dimitri jumped back as he suddenly became away of Claude's closeness.

"Forgive me, I was lost in thought." Claude gave the prince an unreadable smile. "Claude, may I ask the name of your friend?"

He felt his hands go clammy, so he flexed and unflexed them several times to no avail. Claude kept up that unreadable smile. "Certainly, her name is-"

"Never mind!" Dimitri quickly shouted and looked away.

There was so many reasons that caused him to chicken out on hearing the name. If it wasn't Byleth than he didn't know if his heart would be ready for such disappointment but if it was her…Well there was so many issues to that. He knew he would become greedy and would want so much more. But the main problem was that at that moment wasn't the right time. He needed to get his revenge first and he couldn't drag her into it. He couldn't put her in any more danger than he already had.

He offered Claude an apologetic smile and desperately tired to ignore the look that the other man was giving him. Quickly he retired to his and Claude's tent and hoped that the Alliance heir wouldn't be so quick to join him. Once alone he pulled out his leather patch and ran his fingers over it.

To see Byleth again had been one of his greatest desires for the last two years and yet the possibility that she was so close, terrified him. Would she even want to see him? Her letters two years ago stated that she did, but did she still feel that way? He had so many fears like that, but his biggest fear was that if he saw her again it would weaken his resolve. To give up his desire for revenge because the allure of the happiness that she would surely bring would be to great.

But maybe just a peek of her would be enough…

* * *

A loud shout jolted Dimitri out of the light sleep he had drifted off into. In a daze he was only vaguely aware that he was clutching the leather patch and that there was more shouting happening. To so easily fall asleep, he didn't realize how bad the exhaustion he was ignoring had gotten but that wasn't an issue he could focus on at that moment. When several shadows dashed passed his tent, he grabbed his lance and left.

Claude and Edelgard were standing around the center of camp. Claude's eyes darted everywhere, and he was clearly on guard, while Edelgard had been suspiciously calm. When Dimitri joined them, Claude relaxed some.

"What is going on?" Dimitri asked as he surveyed the area. Many of the knights had their weapons drawn and were rushing forward, while a few stayed back.

"We are under attack by bandits," Edelgard said so nonchalantly that he almost didn't believe her. "There seems to be quite large amount of them too."

"Suspiciously so," Claude mumbled and eyed Edelgard.

"Where is Professor Biseon?" Dimitri asked when he finally noticed that the man was missing.

"He took off running as soon as the attack started," Edelgard answered, and he stared at her, unable to accept such a thing. When he finally accepted the truth, a sigh escaped him as he realized just how incompetent House Biseon was. They were certainly an embarrassment to Faerghus.

"The knights seem to be having trouble with these numbers," Claude said as his eyes started to dart around. With wide eyes, he pointed to behind Dimitri. "Look out!"

A lone bandit had managed to break into the camp and was charging at the trio. The bandit raised his axe to strike but his strength was nothing compared to Dimitri's that was used to easily smack the axe away with one powerful swing of his lance. The attacker cursed loudly before a lance pierced his chest and finished him off.

When the little fight was finished Claude had took off running towards the east. Both the royal children shouted a complaint, but he did not stop. Glances were shared before they gave chase.

No matter how much they shouted to him, Claude would not respond. He dipped and weaved with a grace that the royals could only wish to imitate as they struggled to keep up. When they feared that they would lose sight of him, he stopped.

* * *

Byleth awoke to a very familiar darkness. Slowly, she turned to face the strange illuminated throne. Collapsing onto her bottom, she waited for the dream to come to an end. She had long since given up on trying to wake the girl.

"Hey!" Byleth jumped at the sudden voice. She looked all around her, but nothing stood out from the darkness. "Up here!" She almost didn't believe her eyes; the young girl was awake and motioning for her to get up. "Get over here!" In partial disbelief, Byleth rushed up the stairs.

Once Byleth got to the top the girl sat on her throne and yawned. Resting her head on the knuckles of one of her hand she glared at Byleth, who was taken aback. The girl glared at the young woman for a bit before yawning again.

"It is most rude to interrupt a moment of repose. Very rude indeed!"

"I am sorry," Byleth stammered out without thinking, and the girl narrowed her eyes.

"How did you get in here anyway?"

"I…" The mercenary paused to look around, "I do not know."

The girl gave her a look for a second and then shook her head. "No matter. Now come to me." She gestured for Byleth to come closer. "I wish to look at you."

Hesitantly, Byleth stepped forward and the girl was a bit annoyed as she motioned for Byleth to hurry up. Leaning forward on the throne the girl gave a quick look over to the woman, before her. "Hmm…I have not seen the likes of you before." Byleth wanted to comment that she had seen the girl several times already but decided against it as she wasn't sure how the girl would react. "Who are you?"

"A…mortal?" Byleth wasn't sure why she said that, but she did believe that it helped to differentiate her from the girl. The girl was obviously not human but that didn't mean she wasn't mortal either…but Byleth got the feeling that the girl wasn't.

"I see." The woman's strange response didn't seem to bother the girl at all. "Then you must have a name of some sorts. Go on." She gestured with a wave of her hand.

"I am Byleth Eisner," she said with a bow.

"Huh. I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names." Hearing such a line reminded Byleth of Indech and she wonder if the girl was related to him in some ways. Seemingly becoming more interested in the conversation, the girl started to sit on the edge of her throne. "You must possess a day of birth as well. Beneath what moon and on what day where you born to this world?"

"I was born on the sixth of the Verdant Rain Moon."

"Well, wonders never cease! It seems we share our day of birth. How strange!" Byleth didn't believe that it was a mere coincidence, but she said nothing.

"Hm. It all feels so…familiar." The girl returned to her position of resting against an arm rest of her throne. "I think it may be time for yet another nap…" She finished speaking with a yawn. "It is almost…time to…begin…" She fell asleep and Byleth was impressed with just how quickly she did.

When the girl fell back to sleep the darkness began to encroach. Panic started to well within the mercenary as she looked back to the girl and noticed that she was missing. She stood petrified as the darkness began to close in, but she calmed down greatly when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

Slowly she began to stir and only fully awoke when she felt a slap on her leg. Still lying down she turned to look at her father, who was giving her an annoyed look. Giving him a small frown, she turned away from him and pulled the covers over herself.

"Oh no you don't!" Jeralt said and pulled the covers away from her. "It's time to get up!"

Mumbling something incoherent she sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she let out a loud yawn. Now reluctantly awake she gave her father a small glare and he simply shook his head.

"I dreamt about that girl again," she finally said as she got onto her feet. He gave her a quizzical look and said nothing; she knew he must have been running out on things to say about a subject that he knew nothing about. "She was awake this time."

"Oh, and what was she like?"

She paused in her stretching to recall the girl for a bit. "She's bossy."

He broke out into a laughing fit and smacked her across the back, forgetting about his strength for a moment. "Leave it to you Kid, to dream about a bossy girl." He pulled her in for a side hug and messed up her already tangled hair some more. It took more effort than she would have liked to push him off.

"Alright Kid, I woke you up because we are going to head out soon and I wanted to say goodbye." She pouted as she would have loved to join him, but he was going to the Kingdom.

"Hey," he called softly and pulled her in for a genuine hug. "It will only be for a few months." He knew their separation wasn't the main problem, but he hoped that on focusing on that would distract her, even for a little bit.

"You are off to Derdriu so you'll get to see that boy again." He didn't like that, but it was impossible to argue against his daughter's smile. "But remember you must maintain a three feet distance between you and that boy at all times!"

"Dad!" She stopped her foot.

"No buts! That's the rule you better follow, do you hear me?" She rolled her eyes. "I am being completely serious little lady!"

She opened her mouth to complain when one of their men barged in. He was their newest recruit, only joined their ranks last year. He stared at Byleth, until Jeralt loudly cleared his throat, causing the younger man to jump a little.

"Jeralt! Sir!" The father narrowed his eyes and the young man squirmed a little. "Sorry to barge in but there are three teens that are requesting your presence. And one of them claims to know Byleth."

She arched an eyebrow, while her father narrowed his eyes. A warm feeling started to bubble within her and though she didn't know why, she was happy to feel that way. When her father started to walk towards the door, she was hot on his heels.

"Darling!" a familiar voice shouted as its owner rushed towards the two that just left the small house.

"Who's your darling?" Jeralt growled out but Claude didn't' flinch as he continued forward.

"Why you of course Jeralt Sir!" Jeralt grumbled several complaints but they went ignored as his daughter pushed passed him.

"Meadow!" Byleth shouted as she ran into Claude's open arms. The boy was taken back for a second but with a laugh he wrapped his arms around her. "I've missed you!" A blush colored his cheeks, but his wide smile was a genuine one.

"I missed you too," he said softly and gave her a small squeeze.

Jeralt loudly cleared his throat and Claude immediately released her and stepped back. The teen gave the father an innocent look, who was glaring daggers back. Another second of silenced passed and Claude took yet another step way from Byleth and Jeralt gave him a firm nod in return.

"You better have a good reason for disturbing us at such an hour?" Jeralt asked in an icy tone.

"We do," a young woman with white hair said and she stepped forward, and it was only then that both Jeralt and Byelth took noticed of her.

The young woman began to explain their situation but Byleth was only half listening. She remembered being told that there were three teens, so she scanned the area for the final one. Standing a bit way back was the final teen and when her eyes landed on him, she forgot to breath.

With shaky steps, she slowly made her way over to the final one. The expression he wore was the same as hers, wide eyes and a mouth that hung open. He did not budge as she walked over to him, her arms slowly extended out as the closer she got to him.

Standing right in front of him, she was slow to do anything, and he just continued to stare at her with that same expression. She reached out to hold his face but stopped herself from touching him. Her shock began to wash away as her eyes began to become misty and her lower lip started to tremble.

"Is…Is it really you?" she asked so quietly that even she wasn't so sure if she had heard her voice. "Aster?"

When she finished speaking, he tossed his lance aside and threw his arms around her in a tight embrace. A small gasp escaped her at the suddenness, but she smiled when she noticed he was being careful to not crush her. After a few seconds of him burring his face into the crook of her neck, the tip of his cold nose came into contact with her neck and from that she knew it wasn't a dream.

"It is really is you!" Her voice began to tremble, but she didn't care. She wrapped her hands around his neck as it was the most comfortable way for her to hug him. She allowed him to press her further into him. His scent of cedar and earth solidified that everything was real, and she lightly squeezed him in return.

"I have missed you ever so much." She closed her eyes and focused on his warmth. Pressed against his shoulder, she couldn't help but noticed that he was now taller than her and that she liked it. Being wrapped in his arms not only felt comfortable but safe. Resting her head against his, she was pleased to feel him burying his face further into her neck. She felt like a piece of her had returned.

Byleth's comfort came to an annoying end, when her father loudly cleared his throat. Pouting she tired to pull away, only for Dimitri to pull her back to him. With a soft smile, she patted his head.

"Prince, I like ya. I really do but if you don't release my daughter soon, I have no problem with ending you!" Jeralt threaten as he stomped his way over to them.

"Dad!"

Her shout seemed to snap Dimitri out of it as he looked up. He was bright red as he released her and took a step back. Several apologies flew out of him, but he was unable to look at anyone. Giving her father a glare, she grabbed Dimitri's hand and tried to comfort him. After a few second, he was no longer red in the face, but he still wouldn't to look at her.

"Look Kid, I'm sorry. This is a touchy reunion and if the situation was better, I would have allowed for it to continue, honest. Even if it did annoy me a little," he mumbled the last part so no one could hear it, but she did. "But we have a potential bandit problem and you need to get dress. Quickly." He stressed the last word.

The mentioning of bandits was enough to alert her to the importance of getting dressed but the stressing of it bothered her. Glancing down at her sleepwear, one of her father's shirts, with a very wide collar, and brown pants. It might not have been the ideal clothes for battle, but she would have no problem if push came to shove. She looked back at her father and frowned.

Sighing Jeralt, pushed his daughter towards their little house, and Dimitri jolted forward thanks to the hand holding. Jeralt frowned at her but she still didn't release her friend's hand. She did, however, glance back at Dimitri, who was once again red in the face, and then she looked at Claude and the young woman, who were both watching her.

"They need a change of clothes as well," Byleth said and Jeralt arched an eyebrow. "Their uniforms look difficult to move around in and if push comes to shove, they will need better clothes."

The father stared at his daughter for a moment before sighing. "Wil!" Jeralt shouted as he turned to face the young man that alerted them to the teens' arrival. Wil stood attentive at the sudden shout of his name. "Take the prince and the boy and get them a spare change of clothes."

"Why am I just boy?" Claude complained and Jeralt glared at him. "I am boy!"

"Please, I do not wish to be a bother," Dimitri said, and his sights were glued to Jeralt.

"To late for that," Jeralt sighed and Dimitri flinched. The older man walked over to the prince and lightly gripped his shoulder and gave him a small smile to which Dimitri relaxed. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad to be helping you again." A smile slowly spread across the prince's face as Jeralt lightly pushed him forward. "Now go get changed."

Reluctantly Dimitri released Byleth's hand. He gave her one final glance before joining Claude and Wil. She was about to leave as well, when her father stopped her.

"I, and the rest of the crew will head off to route the bandits before they can get any closer to the village. You, Wil, and the brats will be staying back just in case." She gave him a nod before she began to guide the young woman into her house.

Byleth led the young woman into her room and started to rummage for clothes that she could wear. Byleth wanted to make small talk or something as she knew people were more comfortable around her when there was noise of some sort, but she found it difficult to approach the girl. The mercenary was hesitant to say that she was hated but she didn't know how else to describe the distance the girl kept. Hatred was too strong of a word, she believed, as the girl showed no open hostilities and yet it some how seemed to be the most fitting.

Finding the smallest pants that she owned she walked over the girl but stopped short of standing close. Looking at the young woman, she could not shake the strong air of familiarity that she felt towards the girl, but she couldn't recall ever meeting any young person with white hair. Nor could she recall upsetting a stranger, but then again, she realized that she seemed to upset people by simply existing. She fought back a frown as she held out the clothes, a simple blue tunic and grey pants.

"I'm sorry that I do not have anything smaller, "Byleth said and was pleased to see that the girl was willing to take the clothes. "Hopefully these offer better mobility than your uniform."

"Thank you," the young woman said as she took the clothes. "I am sorry to be a bother."

"You are not." Byleth said, in hopes of helping to fix their strain relationship, but it didn't seem to do anything, so she fought back a sigh. Giving her guest some room, Byleth returned to her dresser to get her clothes ready.

"Excuse me." The older woman looked over her shoulder to see that the girl had yet to move. The girl clutched the clothes to her chest and was looking away. She looked so vulnerable, but it didn't seem right but Byleth decided to not comment on it. "I am sorry, but I am shy. Is it possible to change alone?"

"Oh yes. I'll leave in a moment. Just give me a minute to grab some of my things."

After grabbing a few clothes that she barely paid attention too, she slipped out of her room and went to her father's smaller room to change. In her father's room she looked down at the clothes she brought and frowned. It had been an old top that she used to like but after a near miss of a sword's slice the top of it, she had to modified it and now it revealed much of her crest. It wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the young woman, as Byelth didn't know how she would react to it. With a sigh, she decided to just ignore it and get dressed as she didn't want to go in and disturb the girl, nor did she really have time to be worrying about such things.

Finishing relatively quickly, she realized that she left her armor pieces in her room. She debated on whether she should worry about them or not but when she realized that her father would probably nag her for not wearing them, she decided to go get them. Knocking on her door, she waited for a response and when none came, she carefully peaked inside to make sure that the girl was dressed, and she was. Pushing the door open, she noticed that the white-haired woman was inspecting the pink hairband that was sitting on the desk.

"You may borrow it if you wish," Byleth said as she walked in. The girl jumped slightly before quickly turning to face her intruder. "You must return it though as it is a precious gift."

The girl looked back at the gift, softly. "If it is so precious. I would not want to risk damaging it," the girl said as she continued to look at it.

Walking over to the desk, Byleth picked up the gift and held it out towards the girl. She looked at it and then at Byleth. The older woman thought about putting it on the girl but decided against it as she didn't want to upset the girl.

"It is alright. Just in case the worst-case scenario was to happen I would like to make sure you are prepared. So, if you are worried about your hair getting in your face, please go ahead and wear it."

The woman shook her head. "No, I am fine. My hair does not bother me."

Byleth fought back her little frown as she returned her gift to its proper place. Her attempt to help break some of the tension between them had failed and she was at a loss as to what she should do next. She looked at the girl and discovered that she was staring, almost glaring, at Byleth's crest.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Byleth was quick to put on a larger choker with heavy ornament attacked to it. A potential, male suitor had given it to her some time ago before her father chased him off and she thought it was too nice to throw away, even if she never thought she was going to wear it; and she was surprised that she was grateful to still have it. It didn't cover her crest like she would have liked but she hoped that it would at least distract someone away from it. Sighing, she looked back at the woman, who seemed to have had her fill of crest staring and was looking away.

"We haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we?" Byelth asked in order to help lighten the mood somewhat. "I am Byleth Eisner."

The woman gave her a funny look before returning the bow with one of her own. "I am the heir to the Adrestian Empire, Edelgard von Hresvelg."

"Lilac?!" Byleht shouted as she forgot herself and invaded Edelgard's personal space. "Is it really you?" Edelgard pressed her lips together and looked away but Byleth didn't seem to notice. "I didn't recognize you with your white hair. Did you dye it? I heard it was a trend amongst girls."

Edelgard frowned at the strands of hair, she rubbed between her fingers. "Yes," was all she said, and she still didn't look at Byleth.

The older woman instantly got the message that it was a subject that Edelgard did not want to speak on, so she didn't say anything else despite wanting too. She had liked the light brown hair as it would have reminded her of Lady Patricia, but she figured that, that might have been the reason for the change. She was glad that Dimitri kept his blond hair, at least.

"Do you have any spare weapons that I may borrow?" Edelgard asked after a few moments of silence.

"Oh yes. They are in that chest." Byleth said pointing to the chest at the end of her bed and Edelgard walked over to it. "Could you please grab the spare bow and arrows for Meadow, I mean Claude."

Edelgard went through the chest, while Byleth finally started to put on her few armor pieces. She frowned when the leather strap for her left leg armor had snapped and she tossed it onto her bed. When she had thought about reuniting with Edelgard, she had hoped it would be great but…she glanced at her old friend, who was inspecting an old sword, and she let out a small sigh as she could tell that the tension had only gotten worse after she discovered, who Edelgard was.

Clenching her fists tightly she feared that she would have a similar situation with Dimitri. She didn't want that! To see him after so long she did not want such underling hostility. She hoped that the hug that they shared earlier was proof that such a thing wouldn't happen, and everything would be great between them.

Unable to shake away the negativity that had begun to take hold of her she got up to look at her reflection in the mirror that her father had insisted she have. Despite sleeping with her hair in a braid it still ended up as a mess that her father helped contribute too and so she spent some time combing it out. After her hair was presentable, she suddenly started to fix every little thing that might have been off and trying to make herself look as nice as possible. She never cared about her looks, unless her crest was involved, but at that moment she found herself to be very self-conscious and was hoping a certain someone would like what he would see.

"I am ready." Byleth flinched as Edelgard's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Byleth quickly spun around to see that the princess had a bow strapped over her chest and was holding an axe with Almyrian writing near the handle. She hadn't seen the axe in a while, and she couldn't help but remember Muharib. She decided that seeing the axe again was Muharib's way of telling her to not give up and she decided that she would keep trying to be Edelgard's friend again.

Grabbing a ribbon, off of her desk, Byleth began to walk out. "I'm sure the men are done. We should hurry." She tied up her hair into a high ponytail as she stepped out of the room.

Dimitri and Claude stood around talking, while Wil had been missing. Byleth quickly assessed that Wil might have left to go survey the area and so she wasn't worried about it. Both men wore similar matching off white tunics and brown pants; though Claude's looked to be too big on him and Dimitri had a few armor pieces. The men looked up, when the women joined them, and Dimitri was quick to be at Byleth's side and Claude was hot on his heels. When she smiled at Dimitri, he blushed but returned the smile and Claude scowled at that.

She reached up to pat the prince's head but that felt wrong, so she decided to brush his bangs aside. "I'm not surprised to see that you have grown up to be quite handsome," she said, and she couldn't help but chuckle from how red he got. Done with his bangs her hand rested on his cheek and he gripped her hand.

"Well you have become more beautiful than I could have ever imagined," he said so quietly that only she could hear him, and she blushed. She looked up at him and wondered if he was even aware of what he said, and she figured that he wasn't based on how calm he was.

Enjoying the peace, she felt she looked into his eyes. The beautiful blue eyes that she had so longed to see. The once lifeless eyes that she last saw were gone, and she was delighted at that but something else lingered in them. A darkness that she didn't like.

"By, what is wrong?" He lightly squeezed the hand that he was still holding.

She snapped her out of her thoughts. "I fear that I will awaken at any moment and you will no longer be before me," she partially lied as it might have not been her concern right at that moment, but it was still a fear she had.

He released her hand so that he may place his hand on her cheek and looked at her fondly. The darkness was missing, and she was second guessing herself. "I fear that as well. But if we are both of afraid of that then surely this is all real." She rested her head into his hand and smiled.

Their lovely moment was broken by someone very loudly clearing their throat. They both turned to see an unamused Claude in their presence. Instinctively Byleth stepped away from Dimitri and Claude smiled at that, though it was not one of his genuine ones.

Seizing the moment Claude stepped in and separated the two. A mischievous smile danced on his lips as he tried to block her view of the blond. When her focus settled on him, he relaxed a little.

"If you are going to be handing out compliments so easily than I want one," he said as he got closer to her.

She flicked his little braid. "I think I gave you plenty when we were staying together." He pouted. "Fine, you've gotten quite handsome as well." His cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but his pout remained. "Though you would be even more handsome with a genuine smile." His cheeks turned a darker shade as a real smile started to fight its way onto his face.

"You are adorable when you blush." She would have kept up her teasing if Dimitri hadn't wrapped an arm around her as he pulled her slightly towards him and Claude scowled at him.

"Byleth!" Wil shouted as he rushed towards them. "I believe that I might have spotted some bandits heading our way."

"What?!" Claude shouted. "They managed to get pass both the Knights of Serios and the Jeralt Mercenaries? These bandits sure are tenacious."

"You three get inside," Byleth order and all of her earlier playfulness was gone. "Wil and I will handle the stranglers. If we are unable to handle them then you three are to run to the village, okay?"

"No!" Dimitri shouted, and grabbed her arm as she was about to walk away. "I am no longer a child!" She looked at him and he matched her stare. "I can now defend myself as well as protect you!" She pressed her lips together. "I swore to you that I would protect you and I am going to do just that!" Silently, she just stared at him.

"You can either accept our help," Claude said as he interrupted. "Or you will have to make do with us disobeying you because we are helping no matter what." She quietly groaned.

"We are helping and that is final," Edelgard said as she joined everyone.

With a heavy sigh she looked at everyone. "Fine, but all of you are to stay close to me. Do I make myself clear?" They all nodded. "No one will get ahead of me in battle as I will be the lead." She could see that Dimitri wanted to argue to that but when she narrowed her eyes, he let his complaint die.

"Meadow, you will support Lilac."

"Who?" Claude asked.

"Me," Edelgard answered and Claude pouted.

"You two just met and she already gave you a nickname?"

"I have met her before."

Ignoring Claude's loud gasps and demands for answers, Dimitri turned to Byleth. "And where will you have me?" he asked.

"You will be my support," she answered, and he smiled at that.

Slowly, several bandits emerged from the thickets. Far too many from what she was expecting. She kept her expression neutral as to not let the teens know that she was troubled as she could feel all eyes on her.

"If we strike together, we shall be fine," Byleth said as she stepped forward and drew her sword. "Don't be a fool. If you suffer a great wound, do not push yourself. Fall back and wait for me to heal you. No one will die on my watch!"

She was only partially aware of the small cheer everyone gave her. As more and more bandits emerged, they began to laugh but a few began to bunch together as they slowly made their way towards their prey. Thrusting her hand forward she channeled her energy to her palm so that she may cast Bolganone in the bunched-up group.

Screams rang out as the bandits began to scatter and Byleth motioned for everyone to rush forward. She was the first to come into contact as she met a bandit that was fleeing from her spell. The bandit had no chance to react to her before his throat was sliced open and she spared him no other glances as she rushed past him.

Orders from what could only have been from the leader that she couldn't see, rallied the bandits and they began to charge forward. Just as one was about to strike her a lance pushed forward and pierced the bandit's shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon and stumble back. She then finished off the injured man with a quick stab into his chest. Byleth gave Dimitri a quick nod before rushing for the next one.

There might have been many, but their skills were nothing and she knew that there was no way her father's mercenaries wouldn't have any problem with eradicating them. She couldn't understand how they were able to avoid her father and his mercenaries. She assumed that it was their large numbers that must have been giving her father trouble and she wished she could just find the leader already. As much as she would have loved to rush towards the leader and end everything quickly, she could not ignore the minions, less they attack her friends.

Claude screaming out grabbed her attention and she tore her eyes away from her oncoming opponent to search for the injured teen. She spied him trying to slip away from a bandit while Edelgard pressed forward. She glared at Edelgard, who almost seemed to be ignoring her partner.

"Byleth!" Dimitri screamed and her head jerked to his direction just in time to see his lance pass by and pierce her almost attacker in the head.

Her eyes quickly flew back to Claude as she didn't even acknowledge that she could have almost died. The bandit raised his axe to finish off the defenseless teen and she dashed forward without a second thought. Without properly channeling her energy she released an unfinished Thunder spell. It was weak but its backlash was strong, and she felt the residue power flew back into her, but she ignored it as she had successfully halted the bandits strike and needed to finish him off.

With a mad dash she rammed her blade into the man's side, piercing him all the way through. She spared the bandit no other thought as she pushed the body off of her sword. Her attention shifted to Claude, right when a cry from Dimitri broke through the chaos and she forgot all about Claude as she saw several bandits rush Dimitri and one of their swords had pierced his side.

"Aster!" she screamed as she rushed back to him. Her lungs burned, not from exertion but from the backlash of her spell. Breathing became incredibly difficult but she pushed through it. She reached him just in time for her to take the finishing blow that was meant for him.

"What were you thinking?!" a familiar voice shouted, and Byleth slowly opened her eyes. Immediately she was greeted with an almost recognizable darkness. Spinning on her heels she saw the girl glaring down at her from onto the stairs.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" Byleth frowned as she wasn't sure how her dying was the same as getting the girl killed. The girl sighed as she started to walk back towards the throne and the mercenary saw that as a sign to climb the stairs. Once she was at the top the girl sighed again from her seat. "I guess if you do not know the value of your own life you are not going to protect it properly."

Byleth had nothing to say to that as that was something her father had constantly criticized her on. The girl gave her a quick glance over before sighing again. The sighs were started to get a bit annoying.

Rising to her feet the girl clapped her hands once before a smile worked its way on to her face. "I guess it will be up to me to guide you from now on!"

"What?" Byleth subconsciously asked but the girl didn't seem to notice as she was too pleased with herself.

"I am Sothis." Byleth's eyes widen. "But I am also known as The Beginning."

Sothis smiled a brilliant smile for but a moment before a look of confusion washed over her. Closing her eyes, she rested her tilted head on the knuckles of one of her hands. She tapped her foot on the ground, trying to grasp something just out of her mind's reach.

"Sothis…Yes, that is it. My name is Sothis." Byleth just stared at the girl. The mysterious girl had been the one that the unusual creatures were looking for so why did they mistake Byleth for her? She looked nothing like Sothis. The girl also didn't fit the image that Byleth had built up for Sothis. Byleth looked around at the nothingness but only the throne could be seen in the darkness and for the first time in her life she wondered where that mysterious space existed.

"And I am also called…The Beginning. But who once called me that?" Sothis' voice brought back Byleth's attention to her.

"Are you really Sothis?" Byleth asked, and the girl's eyes snapped open.

"I was not able to recall my name until this moment. Do you know who I am?"

Byleth shook her head. "I have met creatures that spoke of you but that is all I know about you."

Sothis closed her eyes and resumed her thinking stance. "How odd that I only now recalled my name…" Slowly, she opened her eyes to stare at the woman before her. "That does not matter right now. We must figure out what to do next."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we must correct your foolishness that had you throwing yourself before a blade!" Byleth would disagree with it being a foolish action but she decided to not argue with Sothis. "Yet all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened." Byleth knew she would have died but to hear it told to her, somehow made it more real.

"You stopped time?" Byleth asked only because she didn't believe it, and Sothis frowned.

"Hm. I do not hear your gratitude."

"Forgive me," Byleth quickly said with a bow. "I am grateful. It's just your powers surprised me."

"I am incredible, am I not?" Sothis stood proudly before her, puffing out her chest and held her head high. "It seems I was right to deem you worth saving after all." Her pride quickly washed away as her earlier confusion returned. "Though it is only momentarily, the flow of time has stopped. However, did I manage that…"

"What now?"

Sothis' focus returned to Byleth. "Time will flow once again, and the sword will pierce your heart and you will meet your end."

Byleth looked away and stared at the darkness. She did not feel a shred of regret for losing her life if it meant that she saved Dimitri. She only wished that her death would not trouble him so much.

"How rude of you to drag me into this!" Sothis' voice snapped Byleth out of her thoughts again.

"I am sorry." Sothis smiled at that.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

"Begin what?"

"Rewinding the hands of time." Byleth tilted her head. "I will send you back before you foolishly threw yourself before the boy."

"No."

"No?"

"I do not care that I die so long as Aster is safe." Sothis frowned. "If you were to rewind time than I will just do the same thing again!"

"Honestly, you are a fool!" Byleth's expression did not change. "Neither yours nor that boy's death are set in stone." Byleth's eyes widen. "A death does need to happen, but it does not need to be either yours or that boy's, as that bandit can pay the price."

A massive magic circle appeared before Sothis and soon three different visions played out before Byleth: one of her death, one of Dimitri's, and finally the bandits'. The death of Dimitri was incredibly painful to watch, and she hopped to never see it again. Her eyes snapped back to Sothis, who was smiling at her.

"It will be up to you to guide the present to the desired future." A new magic circle formed in front of Sothis and inside the center of it was a mysterious symbol. Byleth's hand brushed over her crest because she was sure that symbol was what her completed crest would look like.

"Now go…Yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek."

Before Byleth could ask what Sothis meant by that she found herself being engulfed by a strange but comforting energy. After blinking she found herself back on the battlefield, right after she had casted the poor Thunder spell. With a clear mind, she was able to see Wil rushing towards Claude that her panic mind had missed the first time.

"I'm counting on you Wil!" she shouted more of a distraction for the bandit than for support. He gave her a nod and she rushed back to Dimitri.

She cursed loudly as she was unable to reach Dimitri in time before a sword pierced his side, but she at least made it before the killing blow could be readied. She managed to slice open the bandit's stomach just as he was raising his sword. Kicking the bandit away, she managed to prevent any of organs from spilling onto her and making her little area a hazard to walk in.

Swiftly, she dispatched the one that stabbed Dimitri, while he delivered a devastating blow to the final bandit in their area. A groan escaped him as he dropped to his knees and she was quickly at his side. Gently she placed her hand on his wound and her body screamed at her for using magic again, when she was still recovering from her botched spell.

"I'm sorry for leaving your side," she said as she tried to mask her unease for feeling Dimitri's blood on her hands. She wished to never see Dimitri bleed again.

"Do not worry about that. I wanted you to save Claude," Dimitri said, and she looked into his eyes. One of his hands cupped her face. "Besides I am alive thanks to you."

She whispered her internal gratitude to Sothis as she finished healing him. When she finished, they both rushed to Claude, who was still lying on the ground, and Wil stood protectively over him. They smiled when they saw the two approaching.

"Took you long enough," Claude teased, and winced when he tried to move. His abdomen as well as his left leg had nasty wound. Silently she went about healing and prayed to never see him injured as well. Healing three major injuries as well as still recovering from her failed spell was starting to take a toll on her.

"Edelgard!" she shouted as she rose to her feet. "Get over here!"

A scowl nearly supplanted itself onto her face as she realized that Edgelgard had yet to react to Claude not being by her side. As much as she didn't want to have suspicions against her friend, she couldn't help but be a bit wary of the girl. When the final person joined them, Byleth turned to face everyone.

"You four will guard this area."

"And what about you?" Edelgard asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"I am going to cut the head off of the serpent."

"Alone?" Claude asked and Wil tensed up next to him. She simply nodded.

"I will not allow you to go alone," Dimitri said and reached out to grab her arm, but she stepped out of reach.

"I will be fine." He frowned at that. "Honestly, it will be easier for me to go alone." He flinched at that and she struggled to remain indifferent. She just didn't want to see him, or Claude get hurt again. "I will be fine, I promise." That didn't seem to bring him any comfort and she realized that she didn't really have the luxury of comforting him then. "You will listen to Wil, while I am away." She and Wil exchanged nods before she left.

She rushed into the forest. She had to pass a few minions and wished that she could have taken them out before they could reach the others, but she knew she in doing so would only exhaust hers. Gripping her sword tighter she pressed forward, knowing that the death of the leader will end it.

The mercenary followed the shouts until she came upon a small clearing, where four men stood within. All eyes flew to her and all at once they struggled to get ready. She believed it would have been easy to end it all in one go as they were all nicely bunched up, perfect for a well place Bolganone spell but her body wouldn't allow it.

"Kill her!" the leader shouted, and his three subordinates charged her.

Masking her frustration, she met the men head on. Unlike with all the earlier fodder, she faced, she was having a difficult time facing those three men, which lead her to believe that they were proper bandits. Pushing the many questions that started to swarm her mind aside, she tried to figure out which of the men was the weakest link. The men attacked in a line formation that she thought was an idiotic attack formation, but she soon discovered that it made for an excellent defensive one.

Quickly, she discovered it was the man in the middle and though she had tried to coax him forward and exposing himself, he never did. She struggled to keep her frustration hidden as the middle man was carefully protected by each man on his side, making for an even more annoying battle. When she would try to finish him off with a calculated thrust, one of the two men, on his sides, were quick to block her strike.

Fighting back a sling of curses, she decided to change her tactics and finish off the outer men first. Just as with the man in the middle, the men on the sides were being protected and refused to break their formation but with the middle man's slower reactions, she soon found it easy to break through their defenses.

The man on the right was the first to meet his end as her sword was plunged into his neck after she had feinted on going for his stomach. That man didn't go down without a fight as he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward as he fell back. Thanks to his hold she wasn't able to completely dodge the left man's strike as his sword dug into her side, but she refused to show any pain.

Startled by her glare the middle man stumbled back. "You're the Ashen Demon, aren'tcha?!" he screamed as he took another step away from her.

"The Ashen Demon is here?!" the leader shouted as his eyes began to dart around. "Then that means that the Blade Breaker isn't far behind either!"

As if on command her father busted through the trees. He swung his lance around before he thrusted it at the leader, who narrowly avoided the strike. When Jeralt spied his daughter, he urged his horse towards her and pierced both of the men that were attacking her in the chest with an ease that she was jealous of.

"You guys are like cockroaches! How many of you are there?" Jeralt demanded as he stayed near his daughter.

"The Knights of Serios and the Jeralt Mercenaries?!" the leader yelled before laughing like a deranged man. The father and daughter exchanged looks. "To hell with this! No pay is worth this suicidal mission!"

The leader ran away, along with the few nearby men that heard him. Jeralt seemed to be eager to give chase but she couldn't have cared less as she only wished to return to her friends. Her father growled out when he saw her clutching her side and helped her onto his horse.

The mention of pay by the bandit leader bothered her but she decided to put it out of her mind for the time being. As soon as she laid eyes on everyone and noticed that they were okay, relief washed over and she almost allowed her exhaustion to get the better of her. She stumbled off the horse in her haste to get to Dimitri, who, along with Claude, were meeting her halfway.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she stumbled over to them and Dimitri caught her as she nearly fell. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Forget about us! What about you?" Claude asked, eyeing her blood-soaked side.

"It's nothing that a Vulnerary can't fix."

"Thank the goddess!" Dimitri whispered as he wrapped her in a hug. "Please do not leave me like that again. I beg of you."

She returned the hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise."

* * *

**Bonus Part!**

**I wanted to write the reunion in Dimitri's point of view, but the story flowed better with Byleth's so enjoy this little snippet.**

"Who are you kid?" asked a gruff man to Claude right when Dimitri and Edgelgard caught up.

"I am a friend of Byleth," answered Claude and he did not spare a glance to his fellow class leaders.

Dimitri froze upon hearing her name. He didn't know what to do or what to make of it. He wasn't even sure if he truly heard Claude correctly or if he just heard what he wanted to hear. Paralyzed all he could do was stare at the Alliance heir.

The mercenary looked at Claude for a bit before he motioned for the younger man to leave. Claude stood there happily and Edelgard joined him, but Dimitri remained rooted in place. The prince's mind was swirling and not a thought could break through the haze of it all.

"Darling!" Claude shouted as he rushed forward and Dimitri's eyes followed him.

When his eyes landed on the oh so familiar old, gruff man, all his thoughts ceased, and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. He couldn't bring himself to move and all he could do was helplessly stare at Jeralt. His breath hitched as he finally saw her, the person he so desperately wanted to see.

He had no idea how long he was staring. He wasn't even really aware of what she was doing as the only thing his mind and heart cared was that she was there. Excitement welled within him, along with the horrific fear that it was all a nightmare and she would soon be ripped away from him.

Their eyes locked and he forgot to how to breath. She slowly made her way over to him and he wanted to rush to her, but he was frozen in place. No thoughts could penetrate his barren mind and he couldn't even find his voice to call out to her.

"Is…Is it really you?" she had asked, and her voice was just as melodious as he remembered. "Aster?"

At the sound of his childhood nickname, his trance was broken and threw his lance aside in order to engulf her in a tight embrace. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and the familiar scent of jasmine comforted him once more. He pulled her closer to him as he slowly closed his eyes.

"It really is you." Her trembling voice whispered into his ears and it was a sound, he knew he would never get tired of hearing. Her arms wrapped around his neck and soon her warmth was spreading throughout his body. He dared to not move in fear of breaking the beautiful illusion.

"I have missed you ever so much." Her warm breath brushed against his ear and he shuddered. He pressed her further into himself and was only a tiny bit aware to be careful to not to crush her. He wished he wasn't wearing his gauntlets, but he didn't dare move to remove them, less some cruel twist of fate would take her away from him again while he had loosened his grip.

He had been a complete utter fool. There was no way that a simple peek would ever be enough to satisfy him. How could he believe that he wouldn't want to hear her voice or to feel her warmth? She was in his arms and yet he wanted more, oh so much more. He was right the first time, he was greedy and just to see her once, to hear her once, and to feel her once, was never going to be enough.

* * *

Incoming a long Author note because I have a lot to say!

First, we have gotten to the point in the story that I have been least looking forward too, as to be honest, I'm not sure how I am going to write the Academy era.

Second, I will have to take a short break and I don't know when my next upload will be. I got a wedding to go to this coming weekend and right after that midterms! Ugh…And then after that I think will be the start of papers….

Next up is Head cannon notes and I apologize if they are a bit confusing.

First up, Backfired spells:

A spell needs to have its energy challenged properly before it can be casted. To cast it before hand is incredibly dangerous, especially at higher level spells. The residual energy that didn't get expended will travel through the caster body and will be incredibly painful. Byleth kept feeling like she was being electrified throughout the battle. The residual energy can even prevent spells from being cast as it disrupts the flow of energy.

The way to treat a backfired spell is to either wait for it to pass, which could take awhile as there is no set time, or for a high-level Faith caster to cancel out the negative energy with their own healing magic.

Second, Divine Pulse:

Having to break this down so it isn't so broken was difficult to figure out. So here how it goes, Divine Pulse can rewind time, but it cannot erase a set point that is to happen, like a death or an injury. Sothis and Byleth are not actually changing the future they are just guiding it down a desired timeline.

For instance, like what happened in this chapter a death was needed to happen. It could have been either Byleth's, Dimitri's, or the Bandit's. So Byleth had to make sure that the bandit died before either her or Dimitri were killed. This does mean that there is timeline where Dimitri died before Byleth's eyes and one where she died before Dimitri.

I hoped I managed to explain it in a way that makes sense as I didn't want Byleth to have access to such a broken ability.


	17. Chapter 17

If I was a good student, you all wouldn't be getting this chapter so quickly, but I am not. :P

I had expected this chapter to be a short transition chapter and nope, it's just a standard-length chapter for me and I don't even know how.

And since we have arrived at a consistent time point in the story, I will no longer be posting up ages.

* * *

**Great Tree Moon 1180:**

**Twentieth of the Great Tree Moon:**

When dawn finally arose both Byleth and Dimitri gave into their exhaustion. Jeralt wasn't surprised that Byleth collapsed after hearing her story (minus a certain green haired girl) but Dimitri had been a surprise to everyone. It was only when he carried the prince to his bed that did, he noticed the bags under the poor boy's eyes. Jeralt didn't want to even think about when it was the last time that the prince slept after he recalled some of Byleth's stories about him.

With the kids in their bed, Jeralt had no other distractions from the problem he did not want to deal with and that was about the brats. They were students and not just any students to any old school; if only he was that lucky, they just had to be students to Garreg Mach. The one place in all of Fodlan that he couldn't let his daughter go to and he was sure she would follow the brats despite his wishes.

He let out a large sigh when he saw the two remaining kids in their in their uniforms. He didn't realize he was glaring at them until the girl glared back. Another heavy sigh escaped him as he left to go check on his men that were handling the dead bandits.

It would only be a matter of time before the Knights of Serios came to get the kids. The fact that they were taking so long was a bit irksome as it just drew out the feeling of unease. He prayed that whoever came to get the brats wouldn't be people that knew him. Twenty years had passed since he fled and he has not aged a day since and he knew that wasn't going to help him.

"Students? Are you here? The Knights of Serios are here!" an incredibly loud voice filled the area as its owner burst through the trees' thickets. Jeralt groaned loudly as he suppressed the desire to run.

"Took you long enough!" The mercenary heard the boy say and he snorted. He may have some complicated feelings towards the boy but anyone who dared to show the church some sass was alright in his book; now if he would maintain proper distance from his daughter, he might even come to like the heir.

"We would have died if it was not for the Jeralt Mercenaries," the boy furthered explained with a huff.

"Oh um, I'm really sorry about that. There were just so many- Wait, did you say Jeralt?"

Shit, it sounded like the knight recognized Jeralt's name. With another groan he turned to face the knights, knowing he couldn't escape; at least not easily. When he saw the man, talking to the boy, a sickening feeling settled into him, and he really didn't want to approach.

"What's going on here?" he asked, hoping if he played ignorant the knight wouldn't recognize him.

"Captain Jeralt?!" shouted the knight in well-kept, white armor. Large green eyes stared at Jeralt and the mercenary struggled to keep a neutral expression. He was screwed and he hadn't realized just how much yet. "It is you!" He had to fight to suppress a groan.

The knight stepped closer as a massive smile spread across his face. "It's me!" Jeralt felt a lump form in the back of his throat as he looked into such expectant eyes. "I'm Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well that's how I always thought of myself anyway!"

"Alois," Jeralt drew out the other man's name. Of all the people to run into, Alois was the worse to run into…well maybe a certain woman would have been worse but that was going to be a later problem to worry about.

"Look at you!" Alois smacked Jeralt's arm. "You haven't aged a bit! I must admit that I'm a bit jealous." Jeralt could feel a migraine forming.

"You are here for the brats, aren'tcha?" He ignored the glare the two kids were giving him. "I'll go wake the prince so you lot can be on your merry way."

"Oh yes thank- Oh wait, Prince Dimitri is sleeping?!"

"You only just now noticed that he was not with us?" Edelgard asked and the knight began to squirm under her intense gaze.

"His Highness is such a strong warrior that I didn't…"

Jeralt didn't bother waiting to hear the end of it and just started to walk towards the house. If he had any luck, Byleth would still be asleep and he could get everyone to leave before she awoke; though he doubted that the boys would be willing to do so. Of course, he knew if the prince left without her having a chance to say goodbye it would be devastating. A groan escaped him as he pushed the front door open, as everything was just far to difficult for his liking.

* * *

Byleth slowly awoke and the desire to fall back asleep was strong, but she pushed through it. Her body still felt like a thousand needles were pricking her from beneath her skin. She was content to continue to lay in bed and let the pain pass, that was until she recalled last night's event.

Her body screamed at her as she bolted out of her bed, but she ignored it. As fast as her injured body would allow, she ran out of her room. She almost made it to her front door, when she noticed some yellow from the corner of her eyes, in her father's room. Her body was grateful for the much slower movements but was still angry for the movements, nonetheless.

Sleeping on her father's bed, was Dimitri and by the way his brows were furrowed she didn't believe that he was getting a good rest. She was her body's greatest enemy as she casted a small healing spell on Dimitri's forehead. Whatever nightmare that had been plaguing him quickly vanished and he slowly opened his eyes.

Half-lidden eyes glanced at her. "Good morning," she said softly, and a large smile adored her face. He blinked once, and then twice, before finally bolting upright in his bed. "Easy. You're going to give yourself a headache like that."

"Byleth?" he asked quietly. He reached out to touch her but stopped and his hand hovered in the air between them. "It wasn't a dream?"

With a shake of her head, she grabbed his outstretched hand. She brought it up to her cheek as she was sure that was his earlier objective. With wide eyes he stared at her before he relaxed to everything.

"I'm real."

Forgetting his strength, he pulled her into for a hug and as a laugh escaped them both as they flopped backwards, onto the bed. She brushed his bangs out of his face so she could look into his deep blue eyes. She missed those beautiful eyes so much, the sky was always a poor substitute. He returned the gesture though his hands lingered on her face.

"I have longed to see you so much after your letters and even though I awoke to you, it still does not feel real," he whispered.

"I feel the same. For four years I wanted to see you, to know that you are alright." She rested her head against his chest. His loud heartbeat was a sound she never expected to feel so at peace listening too. "Thank you for coming back to me." His laugh reverberated throughout his body and she liked how that felt.

"I was going to say that." Her head propped up to look at him. He squeezed her as he pulled her up a little. "My life without you was horrible." He brushed his lips over her forehead and her cheeks warmed. "Thank you for brightening up my life."

With her face still warmed, she could only stare at him as her voice was no where to be found. His clear blue eyes reflected nothing but pure feelings that the darkness she once thought she saw was no where to be seen. The memory of his confession surfaced to the forefront of her mind and she wondered if he still felt the same.

"Hey!" They both jumped at the harsh shout. Only getting up, enough to look over her shoulder, she saw her father glaring at them. She was about to address him, but he didn't give her a chance to as he pulled her off. "You both are taking your reunion way too far! I do not approve!"

Jeralt didn't allow for either of them to explain themselves as he dragged Byleth to the back of her room. He ignored her complaints, but he could tell that she was utterly clueless about the situation he found her in. He wanted to protect his daughter and he did a marvelous job at protecting her innocence; far too well as he feared as he might have made her an easy target for more unsavory types. Sighing he went about finding her a new pair of clothes for her to change into; if only to ignore his own frustration at himself and not for the prince or Alois.

It didn't take him long for him to find the piece of clothing that he was searching for. It was a large, dark grey, tunic that was heavy and matched her current outfit somewhat. It was what she would wear when she was planning to go into heavy battle. There might have been no plan for battle as of yet, but the outfit had another purpose that he was planning to utilize, it was completely unflattering on her. Silently, he thrusted the tunic onto her and she glared at it but made not complaint, so he left the room.

As soon as he was out of the room he was bombarded by the prince. "Jeralt Sir! I swear I had no intention of doing something so improper with By!" Hearing her old nickname warmed him but his anger quickly squashed it. "Please sir! I beg of you, do not forbid me from seeing By…I…I need her!"

Shit. As Jeralt looked at the desperate kid he felt his anger wash away. He didn't know what the prince had gone through in the last four years, but he was sure it wasn't easy. A groan escaped the father as he no longer saw a young man before him but that of the young boy that used to ask him nicely if he could play with Byleth. Jeralt grumbled as he realized just how soft he had gotten.

"I'm not gonna separate ya," he finally spoke and the bright eyed, hopeful look that the prince gave him, had the last of his anger vanishing. "But I refuse to let her follow you to the monastery."

The smile left the prince's face, but he gave the father a firm nod. "I had expected as much."

Jeralt clasped a hand onto the prince's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Now go get dressed. The Knights of Serios are here for you." A pained expression planted itself onto the kid's face and Jeralt sighed as he was sure Byelth's expression would be the same, but a bit more muted.

"May…May I please write to By?" The damned hopeful look that the prince was sporting was really pulling at Jeralt's heart.

"So long as the Archbishop doesn't find out, I don't care."

"I swear I won't let her!" With a renewed joy, the prince rushed into the room to get dressed and Jeralt groaned as he realized he would never be able to stay mad at the prince for very long.

He stood in the living room, as he was tempted to wait out the knights leaving from the safety of his living room, but he knew Alois would never accept such a thing. Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly left, and Alois was quick to resume their earlier conversation. From the corner of his eyes, he spied the Alliance boy, who was watching him. Another sigh escaped him as he realized that just a few hours earlier, his biggest concern was simply keeping that boy a safe distance away from his daughter, he wished he could go back to that simpler time.

"The prince is getting dressed," Jeralt said as he interrupted whatever Alois had said. "Once, he's done, you all will be ready to go?"

"Oh yes, we are all set," Alois said as he naturally fell into a new conversation. Jeralt gave him a firm nod and walked over to his men.

"Wait," the Alliance boy said as he jogged over to Jeralt. "Is By, awake yet?"

The older man stared at the boy as he tried to figure out what to say. While the boy needed to work on maintaining a proper distance from Byleth, he was still a good kid that deserved to say goodbye but Jeralt didn't want the knights to know about his daughter. Alois was a good man, Jeralt still felt that, but he was also a blabber mouth that would be sure to share information about Byleth's existence to the wrong people.

"Is her wound more serious than we thought?" The boy's panicked tone snapped Jeralt out of his thoughts.

The father patted the boy on the head, and the boy flinched. Eventually the kid relaxed and gave Jeralt a puzzled look. Jeralt briefly entertained the thought of working on fixing his imitating presence but quickly decided against it.

"Don't worry. She's awake and getting dressed." The relief the boy openly expressed had Jeralt warming up to the boy more.

"Captain Jeralt!" Alois shouted as he rushed over to the taller man, who groaned in return. "I insist that you return with us to the monastery!" Jeralt struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

"No," Jeralt said and tried to walk towards his men in indifference.

"But Captain!"

"Enough with the captain nonsense! I ain't your captain anymore!"

"You were a captain?" asked the last person the father wanted to know. The father mumbled several curses under his breath as he turned to see his daughter and the prince walking towards him. "What were you a captain of?"

"He was the captain to the Knights of Serios!" The bastard Alois answered before Jeralt could even think up a deflecting topic. With wide eyes Byleth stared at the knight. "Captain Jeralt was the greatest knight to have ever served!"

"And now I am a mercenary," the former captain said quickly in hopes of ending that topic. "A busy one at that."

He could feel Byleth's stare on him, but he ignored it as he turned his back on everyone. It is only in hindsight that he realized that he should have told her that but he was too afraid that such information would prevent her from properly fearing the knights; just like how she wasn't really afraid of the Crest of Serios symbol as a child. He clenched his fists tightly as he still wasn't ready to tell her everything but at the rate, he was going he was never going to tell her anything.

"Who might you be miss?" Alois asked and Jeralt swore.

"I'm-" Byleth started before her father swiftly cut her off.

"She's just a recent recruit," Jeralt said and avoided looking at her. "You don't need to concern yourself with her."

Try as hard as he might, he could not ignore the small scowl she wore. He hoped that she would understand what he was doing was to protect her, but he understood that his words were a bit too harsh. An extremely tiny part of him was regretting interrupting her and the prince as it at least would have made for the perfect distraction.

"That's a bit harsh," Alois commented and gave Jeralt a look.

"Look, I just don't want the Knights of Serios trying to pilfer my best fighter," the older man said, and hoped that the compliment would please his daughter, it didn't.

"We would do no such thing!" Jeralt huffed and once again tried to walk away. "Excuse me miss." He looked over his shoulder to see Alois staring hard at Byleth and his frowned deepen. "Have we meet before by any chance? You look awfully familiar, but I can't quite put where I have seen you before."

A slew of curse raced through the father's mind as he cursed the knight for his excellent memory. Before Byleth could say anything, he wrapped an arm around her eyes and pulled her back. She clawed at his arm, but he didn't acknowledge it as he was too focused on just trying to hide her.

"Dad, that hurts!" she cried out and he froze. If he had been in a clear state of mind, he would have remembered that she had informed him that she had botched a spell the night before and was still recovering, but he wasn't. All he could think about was how she had just outed herself to the wrong person.

"Jeralt Sir! She cannot breathe!" the prince shouted at him and was about ready to pry the father's arm away.

Jeralt glanced down at his daughter and noticed that in his panic his arm had slide down to cover the whole of her face. "Sorry!" he quickly shouted as he removed his arm. She gave him a small glare as she regained her breath. He reached out to brush some of her hair out of her face but stopped himself. Both the prince and the Alliance boy were quick to check on her.

"You have a daughter?" Alois asked with wide eyes. The mercenary pressed his lips tightly together.

A deep sigh slipped through, Jeralt's lips as he realized he wouldn't be able to salvage the situation. "Yes," he reluctantly admitted, "she is my daughter. She was born long after I left the monastery." He decided to add the last part as a safety measure.

Alois turned his sights back on to Byleth. "She looks nothing like you."

Jeralt's expression finally softened as he looked at his daughter. "Yeah, she is blessed to have not inherited any of my ugly looks." She frowned at his comment and looked away with a little pout. He knew it always bothered her that she didn't look like him, but he didn't care. She was a spitting image of his late wife, not that she knew, he was barely able to muster up the strength to tell her that she had her mother's hair and eye color.

The little happy thought came to an end as he realized that he needed to get Byleth as far away from there as possible. He had been trying to avoid leaving Fodlan but he realized he probably no longer had any other choice. With a hearty smack to the back Jeralt successfully returned Alois' attention back on to him.

"It was nice seeing you again ol' friend." He added the last part to butter up Alois and get the other man more accepting of their parting. "But we really should be leaving. We have a job in the Kingdom that-"

"No!" the prince shouted as he interrupted Jeralt. He grabbed Byleth's arm and forced her to look her in the eye. "You cannot go to the Kingdom! It is not safe for you!" Jeralt had to prevent himself from facepalming.

"I wasn't going to go," Byleth said, and the prince relaxed. She then turned her sights onto the Alliance's heir. "I was gonna go to Derdriu but since Meadow is no longer there…" She trailed off without a new solution to fill the void.

"You can come to Garreg Mach," Alois said with a frustrating, large smile. "Everyone will welcome the captain's daughter!"

"No," Jeralt said through gritted teeth, and all eyes were on him. "We are mercenaries. We have no place at the monastery."

"That's not true. The church will easily accept your daughter as well as provide her some work."

Jeralt pressed his lips together. He needed to think of a way to get Byleth out of there. Even though she kept her expression blank, he was pleased to be able to tell that she was uncomfortable with the idea of going to Garreg Mach. He was glad he was able to instill that fear into her, even if the thought of forcing such a fear onto her wasn't a pleasant idea.

The silence settled all around everyone. Ignoring Alois, the father focused his attention onto the prince that held Byleth's hand and the Alliance boy that stood incredibly close to her. Getting her out of Fodlan was going to be the best way to protect her but he knew she wasn't going to leave, especially not after reuniting with her friends.

Suddenly a realization hit Jeralt like a ton of bricks. Byleth's friends, were not just any old friends, they were a crown prince and the heir to the Alliance. If anyone in Fodlan would be able to protect his daughter from the church it would be those two. They would be able to provide her with asylum and he was sure that either one of the boys would be willing to do such a thing.

"We will go to Garreg Mach," Jeralt finally spoke, and everyone looked at him. Living in hiding would be too difficult he had concluded as he was sure that woman would be sending out searching parties for them. He and his daughter will have to survive in the belly of the beast for at least a few months. They just needed to wait for the prince to be crowned king as Jeralt was sure that was the prince would be the easiest and quickest option. The mercenaries would be able to handle the church for a few months…he hoped.

With a loud cheer Alois smacked Jeralt on the back, who barely acknowledged it. "You should go pack," the father told his daughter after walking towards her. She didn't budge and was watching him carefully. He gripped her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I know you have a lot of questions and I will be sure to answer them." He just prayed that she wouldn't ask the more difficult questions that he wasn't ready to answer.

With a light shove, he pushed her towards the house. She gave him one final look before she left, alone. The Alliance boy watched her leave, while the prince watched the father.

"Are you sure about this?" the prince asked quietly, and the boy quickly became interested in the conversation.

The older man sighed. He would have preferred leaving Fodlan altogether, but he knew that wasn't going to be an option that Byleth would entertain anymore. He gripped the shoulder from each of the boys and gave them a light squeeze, when he noticed the Alliance heir flinch under his touch.

"I will need the both of you there when I discuss things with Byleth." Both boys nodded.

* * *

The ceremony that the three future leaders were supposed to perform had been canceled, which was good because it gave Jeralt some hope that the church might have changed; as in the old days the priority of the missions were paramount. During the bandits assault the knights had suffered the most and because of that the group was unable to get very far before it was time to set up camp. Camp was the perfect time to discuss everything, though Jeralt had started to second guess his plan.

He stood before the prince and the Alliance boy. He wanted to include Byleth in the discussion, but she was in the middle of being treated for her backfired spell. After learning about how much pain she must have been in, he started to regret relying on Byleth to be his company's only healer; though finding a mage that was a mercenary was already difficult enough and a healer would have been even more difficult, almost impossible even.

He looked down at the kids and he took a deep breath. As he looked at the prince, he couldn't help but wonder if his plan was right. He knew the prince had developed feelings for Byleth, when he was a child, and it seemed like their time apart only strengthened those feelings. Jeralt couldn't help but feel like he was taking advantage of such pure feelings, but he didn't doubt that the prince wouldn't be willing to grant asylum to Byleth and that was the problem. Faerghus was the Holy Kingdom, the Church's greatest ally, protecting Byleth could cause some serious problems between the too and with the Kingdom's current state of affairs, he wondered if the prince could even afford to do such a thing.

The second option was the Alliance's heir and Jeralt had even more doubts. Byleth had never told him what she and the boy did together while he was away, much to his frustration. All he knew was that Byleth trusted the boy with her life, he couldn't tell if the boy felt the same. He could tell that the boy had some trust issues (not that Jeralt was one to talk), even if he tried to act like everyone's friend. Jeralt couldn't tell if the heir would be willing to offer Byleth such a hand, if it possibly meant he would be gaining a powerful enemy in return.

"Jeralt sir, would you prefer to wait for By?" the prince asked and the boy frowned.

The mercenary's eyes drifted over to his daughter that was in the middle of a difficult healing treatment. He had been informed before hand that she would most likely be exhausted afterwards. With a small sigh, he shook his head before returning his sights onto the boys.

"How much do you know about Byleth's relationship with the church?" Jeralt asked. He knew the prince had some knowledge about it and was curious if King Lambert had ever shared any of the more secretive information. As for the Alliance boy was a frustrating mystery.

"I just know that the both of you have some distrust of it and that she was getting Faith lessons from it."

"All I know was that she was not a believer," the Alliance boy said with a slight scowl. "I did not even know that she had distrust of it or even that her father was the former knight's captain." His tone had become more bitter at the end and Jeralt could tell that the boy was surprised at that by how his eyes widen slightly.

"She didn't tell you about me being the captain because she didn't know," Jeralt said as he looked at his daughter. "I had fled the church shortly after she was born."

"Why?" the kids asked in unison. Jeralt pressed his lips together before bringing his attention back on to them.

"I…I have no proof…," the mercenary started but stopped. He didn't know if he should say anymore. His suspicions could possibly endanger the children and he didn't know if he should risk that. And he didn't know if it was fair to tell others before he even told his own daughter? The one that his suspicions and fears revolved around. He took a deep breath; he had already started so he decided that he might as well finish; after all, second guessing himself wasn't going to get anything done. "But I am certain that the church did something to Byleth when she was just a baby." His distrust wasn't with the whole of the church but with one powerful woman, but he couldn't share that information yet.

Both boys stared at him, with wide eyes. The prince's eyes flew to Byleth's, while the Alliance's heir's lips settled into a thin line and he looked at nothing. Silence settled over them as Jeralt watched the prince twitch and his eyes still glued on to his daughter.

"Why do you suspect that they did something?" the heir asked and looked at Jeralt from the corner of his eye. The prince finally tore his eyes away from her to look at his little group.

Jeralt took another deep breath. It was a valid question but one he didn't know if he wanted to answer. Should he tell them everything? Would they even believe him? Of course, all they needed to do was listen to Byleth's lack of heartbeat to believe it, but he didn't want to put his daughter into such an uncomfortable situation. He was starting to regret not speaking to her first.

"…As a child Byleth never cried, laughed, or even had any emotions until a year after meeting you," Jeralt decided on saying that as he looked at the prince.

"So?" The mercenary closed his eyes. "By, told me that you have been a mercenary since she was born, or it sounds like close to it at least. Now, I do not mean to offend but that most likely contributed to stumping her emotions in a lot of ways." That was a powerful point that Jeralt wished he could go back and change things. How different would everyone's lives be if he had accepted King Lambert's offer to become a knight?

"You are right but even as a baby she didn't cry. What baby doesn't cry?" The boy said nothing to that. Jeralt knew that he needed more proof and yet he still didn't want to bring up the heartbeat.

"I suppose her strange crest can back up your suspicions."

"You know about her crest?" the prince asked and was giving the heir a sideways look.

"She showed me," the heir said casually before frantically turning to Jeralt. "She only showed me her crest and nothing else! I swear I did not see anything other than her crest!" Jeralt believed the boy but he still gave him a glare for safe measures.

"I still have not seen her crest…," the prince grumbled with a pout and the heir had a little smirk dancing on his lips.

"Yes," Jeralt said in hopes of dragging the conversation back to the important topic and away from the boys possibly imaging his daughter's chest. "It is a never before seen crest that has yet to be completed. It is very unnatural." Back to focusing on the topic both boys nodded.

"Jeralt Sir," the prince paused to wait for the older man's focus, "may I know what your intensions are? Returning to Garreg Mack does not sound safe for either of you."

"You're right. I wish for nothing more than to take my daughter and flee Fodlan." Both boys stiffened at that. "But I know that my daughter will not accept it. She has taken too much of a liking to you two to leave." He had to accept that he missed his chance to flee that he should have done that right after he fled the church; but after all the changes his daughter went through with the prince, he believes that staying was the right choice.

Gripping one of the shoulders for each boy, he looked them in the eye. "I will need your help to keep Byleth safe." They both gave him a firm nod. He gritted his teeth as he wasn't too comfortable with relying on other and that was his problem. He would always regret not accepting the help of the late king.

"Each of you are your country's future heirs." The prince gave him a nod, while the Alliance boy narrowed his eyes. "If anyone can protect Byleth from the church it is you. You can grant her asylum and protection so that the church will be unable to touch her."

"I will talk to my gramps," the heir started and it surprised Jeralt, "he likes By so I am sure we can work on something." Unable to find his voice the father could only nod and express his appreciation through a squeeze on the boy's shoulder.

"I…," the prince started softly before looking Jeralt in the eye. "I already had planned to seek out By and see if she would be willing to return to myside after I became king. I will gladly protect her!" The look in the blonde's eyes were fierce and Jeralt nodded. The father wasn't ready to let his daughter marry but he couldn't deny that she would do a lot worse than the prince.

"Thank you," Jeralt said and he allowed just a hint of his emotions to seep through.

* * *

It took a long while for the treatment to finish but Byleth was finally free of the pain as well as utterly exhausted. She vowed to never backfire a spell again. She wanted to join her father and friends in the discussion, but she could barely keep her eyes open. Unable to walk properly by herself she needed the help of the healer to guide her to her tent.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep. She didn't sleep for very long as she jolted awake when someone entered her tent, Edelgard. The two women stared at each other for a bit in silence. After a few more seconds, Edelgard finally broke the stare so that she may start to set up her bedroll.

"We're sharing at tent?" Byleth asked as she watched Edelgard rolled out her bedroll.

"Yes. After the bandits' attack many of the tents were destroy so we have to share," Edelgard said and not once did she turn to look at Byleth. "I apologize for waking you."

"No, it is alright." Byleth continued to watch the younger woman, who continued to keep her back to the other woman.

Edelgard said nothing else after her apology and slipped into her bedroll wearing her uniform. Byleth had offered to leave so that the princess could change but she just ignored the offer. With her lips pressed tightly into a thin line, the mercenary continued to stare at the back of Edelgard.

"Lilac, are you okay?" Byleth finally asked after she worked up the courage to do so. Just as she expected, the younger woman did answer or even acknowledge the question in anyway.

Gripping her bedroll, the mercenary finally looked away to stare at the tent's entrance. She thought about accepting the silence and giving Edelgard what she wanted but she couldn't; not with the worry and guilt that had plagued her for the last six years. With a deep breath, she worked up the resolve to look at Edelgard again.

"Have you been okay for the past six years?" Silence was the response and she wasn't surprised. "Did…did your uncle…," she paused as she didn't know how she wanted to phrase the question. "Did he take care of you?" She hated phrasing it that way, but it was the only safe way she could think of asking it. Edelgard didn't say anything but she did flinch and that was enough for Byleth to understand. "I am sorry for failing to protect you. I always regretted not taking your hand that day and running away…"

The silence persisted as Edelgard pulled her covers over her head. Byleth got the message and spoke no more. She accepted the hatred as she believed that she deserved it. Reluctantly, her exhaustion was getting the better of her and she fell back asleep.

"You did nothing wrong; you know?" Sothis' familiar voice caused Byleth to snap her eyes open. She found herself back in the familiar darkness and when she turned around, she saw Sothis standing atop the stairs looking down at her. "You were but a child. There was nothing you could have done."

"But I could have taken her hand and ran away!" Byleth argued, and Sothis rolled her eyes.

"And where would you have gone? And how were you going to deal with the two countries that would have been searching for you?" The mercenary didn't have an answer for either of those questions.

Sothis looked at Byleth and sighed. "I do not think that girl blames you for whatever happened to her." Byleth wanted to believe that but the distance that Edelgard maintain had her second guessing. "I am sure if you give her some time, she will warm up to you again." Byleth hoped that would be true.

"Anyway, that is not the topic I wish to discuss." Byleth looked at Sothis. "I wish to know what your relationship with the blond boy is?" The mercenary tilted her head. "Are you two lovers?" Her face turned bright red.

"N-No!" Her face felt hot, like it was on fire. She had blushed before, but that time was so much more intense, and she didn't know why. Being mistaken for Dimitri's lover wasn't technically a new thing, but the different wording was nicer.

"Oh? You two have certainly been acting like it." Byleth started to fear that her face was going to melt off soon. "But given how you two parted under such terrible conditions, I guess it is only natural to have such a strong reunion." Embarrassment left Byleth quickly as she stared at Sothis. They had little conversations since Sothis first woke up but Byleth had not told Sothis anything of her past.

"Strange," Sothis mumbled with furrowed brows. "How is it I can recall your memories so vividly and yet my own remain a complete mystery?" With eyes closed she rested her head on her knuckles.

Someone's cry pierced through the quietness. Sothis snapped her eyes open, while Byleth looked around but nothing was out of the ordinary. The cry grew a little louder and Byleth looked to Sothis for answers.

"It seems that girl is in need of some assistance. Off you go." With a wave of Sothis' hand, Byleth found herself back in her tent.

She quickly sat up in alarm, in fear of the bandits returning but the world was still, save for the sleeping girl, next to her. Edelgard clutched her bedroll in a death grip, her hair clung to her face from sweat, and her face was contorted in pain. Byleth reached out to her but stopped in fear of upsetting the girl even more.

"Uh…Agh…Fath…Save…," Edelgard cried out and Byleth threw her caution to the wind. Coping the actions, she once done for Dimitri, she gently stroked Edelgard's hair while casting a light heal spell. Slowly the younger woman relaxed and after a few more seconds she opened her eyes.

Lilac eyes stared into steel-blue eyes for a long moment. An almost forced frown formed on Edelgard's lips as she pushed away Byleth's hand. The silence continued as Edelgard returned to her position of facing away from the older woman.

"Are you okay?" Byleth asked as she ignored the tension. "It sounded like you were having a terrible nightmare."

Edelgard said nothing and the mercenary pressed her lips together as she wondered if she should bother pursuing her concern. "What did you do?" the princess asked after a few more seconds of silence. "The nightmare nearly came to an end after whatever you did."

"I learned that some light Faith magic can help to alleviate nightmares." Edelgard said no more and the older woman accepted that.

Realizing that nothing else was probably going to happen, Byleth settled in for the night. Right when she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard a faint "thank you," and a smile accompanied the older woman as she slept. The both slept in relative peace for the remainder of that night.

**Twenty-first of the Great Tree Moon:**

Now that Byleth's wounds had healed, traveling with the knights wasn't so bad; though she wasn't exactly excited about their destination. Getting to not only see Dimitri again as well as be with him, along with Claude, had helped to diminish some her fears of Garreg Mach.

She had yet to talk with her father as they had been traveling as soon as morning started because of the knights were eager to return to Garreg Mach before there could be another chance for a bandit attack. Talking while marching wasn't possible so she assumed that they would talk when camp was set but Alois was quick to snatch her father away. Unsure of what to do with herself and finding herself alone for the first time since they started, Byleth just sat in front of the campfire.

All day her attention had been shifting between Dimitri and Claude. She was excited to see them, but she was also getting exhausted. They had fought for her attention and she couldn't understand why they just wouldn't share it. She was sure if they were to calm down the two would become great friends.

Because of them she hadn't had a chance to breathe. Everything had been happening so fast that she was still trying to make sense of it all. She had reunited with just not Claude but Dimitri and Edelgard as well. The girl, from her dreams, had awoke as well as possessed mysterious powers that could rewind time and would just speak to her inside her head at random. And to top it off she was going to the one place her father had forbid her from ever going and it was by his decision. Even though a whole day had passed, she was still having a hard time believing everything.

With the warmth of the fire, Byleth started to run a whetstone over Muharib's axe as maintaining a weapon had always comforted her. Dimitri and Claude had been pulled away for responsibilities giving her a small moment of rest. She took comfort in the repeating motion and allowed her mind to empty. She enjoyed the little silence that accompanied her as she finally felt like she had some control.

"What are you doing?" asked Claude as he sat down next to her. She stopped what she was doing but didn't speak or look up. The silence persisted a bit more before Claude broke it again, "I wanted to apologize for earlier." She looked at him. "You are going through a lot right now and have been reunited with a long-lost friend and I am being a child, who is jealous of his friend playing with someone else." His cheeks redden slightly. "I know this is just an excuse but you are my only friend and I have been waiting so long to see you again…" he stopped to sigh. "But I guess Dimitri's been waiting longer…"

She gripped one of his hands and his eyes widen slightly before a smile settled on his face. "It's okay. But thank you for apologizing," she said before looking up at the slowly transitioning sky." "You're right. Everything is a bit chaotic for me at the moment, so I'm sorry that I haven't been giving you your proper attention."

"By, you have nothing to be apologizing about." She returned her sights back onto him and gave him a little smile. "Besides we will now have plenty of time to catch up." She nodded.

She stared at him and he began to squirm a little. "You said I was your only friend but what about that Hilda girl? You have mentioned her a few times in your letters and it sounded like you two were getting along."

A nice shade of pink colored his cheeks and he looked at the fire. "I like her. I think it is possible that we could become friends, but she is a Goneril..." She frowned but it went unnoticed. "I know I should not be judging her on that but…I am afraid that she was realize, who I am, and everything will fall apart."

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he looked back at her. "I do not believe that will happen." He gave her a small smile. "Meadow, I want you to know that I will always support you so you can count on me. I will always gladly help you."

They sat in a comfortable silence. He watched the fire, while she went back to sharpening her axe. He finally spotted the Almyrian writing on the axe and pointed it out.

"Remember when I told you that I know an Almyrian?" He nodded. "Well this was his axe." She handed it to him so that he could inspect it. "It's my keep sake of him but he never told me what the writing meant."

He looked around the area a bit before leaning close to her. "It says Alqarf." She burst out laughing and he smiled.

"I should have known!"

"What is so funny?" Dimitri asked as he joined them. A small scowl was dancing on his lips.

Byleth opened her mouth to speak but never had a chance to as Claude had pulled her away. He pulled her a bit back and she frowned at him when he turned her around to face him, but he wasn't looking at her. Pinching his arms, she returned his attention back on to her.

"Forgive me, but will you please allow me to be a bit more selfish," he whispered into ear.

"If you try and make me dance, I will punch you," she whispered back with a tiny glare.

With a laugh, he twirled her away. She was about ready to punch him, when she realized that he had only done that to maneuver her away from Dimitri, who had approached them. A warning glare was all she gave him, and he released her with another small laugh.

"It seems our little problem still remains." She rolled his eyes. "But that is not what I want." She arched an eyebrow as he went to fetch something from behind a nearby tree. With a bit of dramatics, he pulled out a bow and quiver. A smile plastered itself on to her face as she shook her head at him.

"Fine, I will help instruct you."

It didn't take long for Dimitri to return with his own lance and seeking the same treatment. A first she was reluctant too as she didn't want to have her focus being pulled back and forth between two vastly different weapons, but there was just no way she could say no to Dimitri. Claude was no longer being aggressive with his attention seeking and Dimitri seemed to have relaxed as well from that, making teaching them an easy and pleasant task.

"What is going on?" Alois asked right when Byleth was demonstrating a quick spin attack with a lance.

"By, is just teaching us some weapon maneuvers," Claude said.

"I see. Do you mind if I watch?"

**Twenty-ninth of the Great Tree Moon:**

"There it is!" Alois shouted right as the main group emerged from the forest. "We will arrive at Garreg Mach by tomorrow afternoon."

High up a mountain trail were impressive stone walls. If Byleth didn't know any better, she would have believed that those walls belonged to a fortress instead of a monastery. She stared up at the imposing sight and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"It does feel like our fates are linked to that place," Sothis spoke for the first time that day, startling Byleth. "Again? Hurry up and get used to me. I cannot have you jumping every time at the sound of my voice. It is quite rude, you know." The mercenary wanted to ask how one was supposed to get used to suddenly hearing a voice in her head but decided against it.

She continued to stare at the monastery. Her father had been in a bad mood since yesterday evening and she now understood why. Nervous energy flowed through her and she didn't know what to do with it. Her father never had a chance to tell her why they were going there, and she couldn't help but feel like she was walking into a lion's den blindfolded.

A hand intertwined with one of hers and she looked up at Dimitri, who was giving her a gentle smile. "It is alright. I will protect you," he said and gave her hand a nice squeeze.

"That is right. You are not alone. You will have us," Claude said as he strode up next to her. She gave both of them a nice smile.

Their words were a great comfort. She may not have had the great powers that Sothis possessed or any special knowledge about fate or whatever, but she believed Sothis was right; their fates were locked with that place. Whether it be for good or bad, Byleth did not know.

* * *

Oh, Alois I love you, but I am terrible at puns because of this I don't believe I will do you justice, so I probably won't have you too much in the story. But know that I love you.

Byleth's default outfit for battle will actually be the male version's default. The female outfit did grow onto me to the point where I no longer outright hate it but it's still a terrible design so male design it is!


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry for it taking so long to update. After the last update I had three papers due all very close together…Don't major in Political Science kids.

The stress from the papers gave me writers block. I rewrote the friends' reunion twice and I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with it or not.

And on top of that I finished the DLC and fell in love with Yuri and now there's a small Yuri fic floating around in my head that it is making it difficult to focus on this one.

Oh well, despite all that I still managed to write another long chapter and I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

**Great Tree Moon 1180:**

**Thirtieth of the Great Tree Moon:**

Jeralt stared up at the massive gates that led to Garreg Mach. Despite knowing their destination for over a week it still wasn't enough for him to prepare himself. The desire to run away was so strong.

He glanced down at his daughter, for the past week she had been chatting with the brats but that day she stood close to him. He wondered if she felt the desire to run too. Could he convince her to flee Fodlan?

With a small sigh, he chased that thought away. He knew even if she had agreed and fled it would only be a matter of time before they would regret their decision. She flinched when he began to pet her hair and he only paused in his action for a moment. Those steel-blue eyes and hair that reminded him so much of her mother was now going to become a curse and he grimaced at that thought. Lying to Alois about Byleth's age was easy but he knew he would be unable to do such a thing to that woman, who knew his wife so well.

His sights lingered on his daughter as he wasn't ready to step forward and face everything that he had been running away from. Reluctantly he tore his eyes away from her to look up and see the prince and the heir watching them at the gates. He still didn't feel comfortable on relying on others, but he accepted that he had little choice to do anything else.

Taking a deep breath, he worked up the courage to step forward and so did his daughter. He struggled to keep a neutral expression as he stepped into Garreg Mach for the first time in twenty years. It felt like something gripped his heart when he thought about being able to visit his wife's grave and apologize for his long absent but also at the prospect of what could possibly await Byleth there.

Upon entering the monastery's grounds the students had been instructed to return to their classes while Jeralt and Byleth were being led to meet the archbishop. Maintaining a neutral expression became harder and harder the closer they got to the woman, he feared most. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Byleth grabbed his hand out of the blue.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly as she looked up at him. "It's just you are really stressed."

Of course, he was, how could he not be? He didn't say anything as he understood what she was getting at. He released a pent-up sigh and tried to relax but obviously couldn't. She gave his hand a light squeeze and that helped, a little. He wished he had as strong of a poker face as hers.

When the doors of the reception hall came into view, he froze. On the other side of those doors would be the woman, he dreaded most. He glanced at Byleth and she didn't seem to be any more bothered than when they first arrived; he longed for her ignorance. It was only then that he realized he should have found away to tell her everything before they got there; she needed to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Alois," Jeralt called and the ecstatic man came to a stop. "May we have a moment before we enter?" Alois nodded and Jeralt dragged Byleth a bit away so that they could speak in private.

"This is long, long overdue," the father started in a hush whisper. "I have so much to tell you and yet there is no time." She wasn't judging him, and he sighed because he wished she would; he deserved to be judged poorly by his daughter. "Look for right now I need you to understand that the archbishop Rhea is a terrifying woman that you must be very weary of. Do you understand?" With a slight tilt of her head she nodded, and he sighed. He couldn't believe that she was about to meet the very woman that he had hid Byleth away from. All those years that he spent trying to drill a fear into Byleth were now wasted.

Alois opened the doors to the reception hall once Jeralt returned and the knight then quickly excused himself. A scowl formed on Jeralt's face as he didn't realize that they would be alone with the archbishop. Taking a deep breath, he forced a blank expression on his face and pressed forward, with his daughter trailing a little bit behind. He briefly wondered if he could just hide her behind him.

"Greetings," a tall, dark green haired man said with dashing blue robes that had some golden trim. While Jeralt didn't want to be alone with the archbishop, a stranger being with them didn't bring him any comfort. "My name is Seteth. I am the advisor to the archbishop." The mercenary gave Seteth a firm nod as he wasn't ready to speak yet.

"It has been a long time, Jeralt," the archbishop spoke and Jeralt nearly flinched. "I wonder…was it the will of the goddess that we have another chance meeting like this?" He sighed through his nose as he could feel his façade slipping.

"Forgive my silence for all these years," Jeralt spoke only after he was sure there wouldn't be any tightness in his voice. He bowed, not to be respectful, but to give himself a second to recover. "Much has happened since we last spoke."

"So, I see." The archbishop finally turned to look at Byleth and there was a twinkle in her eye that Jeralt didn't like. "The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you." He couldn't argue with that phrasing. "That is your child is it not?"

"Yes," was all he could say. He wished he had a lie to tell but he knew it would be pointless. For the first time in his life he wished that Byleth looked like him.

Lady Rhea's attention remained glued to his daughter. "I heard of your valiant efforts from Alois. What is your name?" He arched an eyebrow; he had expected for Lady Rhea to mention the fire twenty years ago. He pressed his lips together and decided to continue playing ignorant. If she wasn't going to say anything than neither would he.

With an elegance, he still couldn't believe that a child he helped give life too was able to possess, she bowed gracefully and shared her name. "A fine name indeed. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for saving those students from the Officers Academy."

"Oh no, I do not need such thanks," Byleth spoke with an uncomfortableness he had never seen from her before and wondered if he had made her too nervous. "I was glad to help them because they are my…" She paused to glance at her father and he instantly knew why. He didn't know if it was safe to let the archbishop know of the closeness that Byleth had with the future leaders. "…friends," she ended up admitting when the pause got a little too long and suspicious.

"Friends?" Lady Rhea arched an eyebrow.

"Yes," Jeralt stepped in. "My daughter and those kids really hit it off on the way over here." He decided that it would be best to keep such information secretive so that the archbishop couldn't become suspicious of his plan.

"I see. Well that pleases me." The archbishop turned her attention back to Jeralt and he relaxed a little with his daughter no longer being the center of attention. "Jeralt. You already know what I wish to say, do you not?"

He stiffened and his expression became strained. "You want me to rejoin the Knights of Serios, don't you?" He was pleased to be able to say all that calmly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Byleth staring at him with wide eyes. That was another thing he really should have discussed with her beforehand. "I won't say no but…"

With a slight shake of her head, a brief frowned formed on the archbishop's face before her neutral expression took over. "Your apprehension stings. I had expected that Alois would have already asked this of you." Alois did and Jeralt had tried to turn it down then.

Seteth leaned over to Lady Rhea and whispered something to her, once again a frowned momentarily formed on her face. "I must step away for now, but I expect they will have a word with you soon. Please listen carefully as to what they have to say. Until tomorrow…" She paused to give them a very small bow, "Farewell." And with that she and Seteth left but two new people were quick to replace their absence.

* * *

Dimitri entered the classroom with the biggest grin on his face and even being swarmed by his friends was not enough to knock it off his face. He was barely able to make it into the room before Dedue was upon him with worry. Sylvain and Ingrid were next, while Ashe, Annette, and Mercedes kept a comfortable distance back. He was happy to see that even Felix joined them, though he kept his distance.

"I am alright Dedue," Dimitri repeated for the second time, but his smile did not wavier. "Honest. There is nothing that you need to fret over my friend. In fact, I am better than ever."

"We heard it was a group of mercenaries that came to your aid," Ingrid said with a hopeful tone that Dimitri liked.

"Based on that massive grin you have been sporting, I am guessing that it was not some unknown mercenary group was it?" Sylvain asked with a little eyebrow wiggle. Dimitri could feel his cheeks heating up and Sylvain's nudging wasn't helping. "Come on talk! How is she? Is she okay? How does she look?"

"Beautiful," Dimitri whispered with a fond look. He burst out into a massive blush when he realized what he said. The knowing smirk that Sylvain was giving him, had him wishing he could hide away.

"I mean she is doing well. Her father had set up a base in Remire Village. They even have a home there. It seems like she has been doing fine."

"Enough of that nonsense," Felix said as he made his way over. Dimitri's smile didn't seem like it was going to end any time soon as that was the first time that Felix had chosen to talk to him since the year started. "How strong is she?"

"Felix!" Ingrid shouted as she tried to scold him, but he ignored her.

"Don't be like that," Sylvain said and ignored the glare he was given. "You are just as worried about her as we are."

The swordsman scoffed but a light shade of pink dusted his cheeks. "I knew she would be fine." He turned his sights back onto to Dimitri. "So? How much stronger did she get?" Both Sylvain and Ingrid sighed.

"She is incredibly strong and battle savvy," Dimitri answered, not really seeing the rudeness that Sylvain and Ingrid saw. "I fear that the three of us were just a hinderance to her." Felix smirked at the news. "Her awareness in battle is astonishing." That bit of information peaked all of his friend's interest. "During the attack Claude had attained an injury and was at the mercy of a bandit but By had quickly assessed the situation and how to deal with it." He found it a bit funny to see how his friends clung to his every word. "She had momentarily stopped the bandit and let the other mercenary that was with us take over and rushed back over to myside before a bandit could finish me off. To be honest I have no idea how she was able to assess everything so quickly and efficiently." He had to pause so that he could assure Dedue that he was fine. "It was almost like she had knowledge of the future with how fast she was able to react to two different dramatic situations."

"Excuse me," Annette spoke up and all eyes flew to her. "May I ask who you are talking about?"

"Forgive us, we are talking about a childhood friend of ours that I had the pleasure of reuniting with," Dimitri answered with a small bow.

"Not just any ol' childhood friend," Sylvain said as he threw an arm around Dimitri's shoulders. "She is His Highness' first love."

All the girls, except for Ingrid, gasped. Soon the room was filled with murmurs and Dimitri gave Sylvain a small glare. The prince didn't want Byleth to start off her stay at Garreg Mach with rumors already floating about. There were already enough rumors surrounding her back in the Kingdom, she didn't need those similar rumors following her.

While the classroom was full of murmurs, the friends continued to chat about Byleth. To have such open conversations about her again, warmed the prince's heart. He could not remember the last time that he was that happy.

He wondered if he should tell everyone that she was in Garreg Mach but decided against it. The look on everyone's face would be too great to miss. And he thought it was only fair as he hadn't told Byelth about them either; though apart of that was because of his own selfish reason for wanting to hog her attention, not that Claude made that easy.

**Harpstring Moon 1180:**

**First of the Harpstring Moon: **

"What is the church going to do about our class?" Sylvain asked from his seat behind Dimitri. "Did they find a new professor already?"

"Well there are several minor professors like Professor Jeritza. Maybe one of them will be taking over?" Ingrid answered from her seat next to Sylvain. "Or maybe Seteth will be taking over while a new professor is chosen."

"Anyone but Seteth!" Sylvain groaned as he overdramatically slumped into his chair. "That man has it out for me!"

"I cannot see why?" Ingrid rolled her eyes.

Dimitri felt his chair shake a little and when he looked back, Sylvain was smiling at him. "Hey, did they tell you anything?"

It took Dimitri a second to realize what Sylvain had asked since he was lost in thought. "Professor Manuela told me that we would be getting a new professor," he said with a slight frown. Manuela had shared that information with a smirk and he still didn't know what to make of the smirk, but that wasn't the thing he was dwelling on.

He didn't really care about the new professor at that moment as his concerned laid with Byleth. After they had split yesterday, he didn't see her after that. He wasn't sure if was safe for Byleth to meet the archbishop but denning a visit would have been problematic. He wished he knew where she was.

"Man, I wish we could go to Remire village." Sylvain said as he sat back in his chair and stared up at the roof. "It is not fair that only you got to see By." Dimitri wore his princely smile so that he wouldn't let slip his secret.

The doors to the classroom were pushed opened and Seteth walked in. Sylvain groaned loudly before Ingrid elbowed him in the side. Seteth began to say something but went silent when Felix, in the back of the class, suddenly rose to his feet, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Byleth?!" Felix shouted and at that both Sylvain and Ingrid got onto their feet. Sylvain rushed into the aisle and Seteth gave him a small glare, to which it was ignored.

Byleth rushed forward and it was Dimitri's turn to arise. Seteth cleared his throat and Byleth halted in her advancement but Sylvain didn't. He tackled her into a massive hug that knocked her off her feet, but he kept his balance for the both of them. The green-haired man voiced a complaint, but it went ignored.

"By! I really can not believe that it is you!" Sylvain shouted as he spun her around. "I did not know you were here!" Sylvain gave a small but playful glare to Dimitri in the middle of one of their spins. "His Highness never said anything!"

"He didn't tell me anything either!" Byleth laughed and the massive smile she was sporting was absolutely mesmerizing to the prince. For a moment he felt a bit guilty for not telling anyone, but he knew if he said anything their joy wouldn't be as grand. His friends' smiling faces were something he was going to treasure.

"Mr. Sylvain Gautier!" Seteth said in a low tone and the said boy instantly froze. Dimitri suspected that that was a tone Sylvain often heard from the advisor. "Refrain from such conduct with your new professor!"

Dimitri's eyes flew to Byleth, who was smiling widely at Sylvain. His smile grew as he realized what she being his professor truly entailed. He was ecstatic at the idea of being able to see her a few times at Garreg Mach but for her to be his professor meant that he would get to see her nearly every day. He knew he needed to be cautious of the archbishop, but he wanted to show her his deepest appreciation.

"You are our professor?!" shouted Sylvain as he spun her around again. Another warning shout of his name finally had him putting her down for good.

"I did not know you were so familiar with some of the students from the kingdom," Seteth said with eyes narrowed on her.

"I am familiar with them," Byleth said a bit meekly. Dimitri got the impression that he messed up and maybe he should have told everyone. "I did not know Princess Edelgard or Lord Claude before rescuing them." He quickly realized that she might had been planning to keep their history a secret and, in his desire, to surprise everyone he ruined it.

The advisor's eyes lingered on her for a bit before he continued forward. He ordered for everyone to sit and Sylvain was reluctant to do so, until a glare was thrown at him. At the front of the room the older man patiently waited for the mercenary to join him.

He coughed into his hand lightly before starting a little speech, "The introduction did not go as I had planned but let us carry on. Miss Byleth Eisner here shall be the Blue Lions' new professor." He paused to let the students murmur for a few seconds. "As I am sure you have heard by now, she has demonstrated great skill by coming to the aid of some of your fellow classmates so I am positive she will have much to teach you."

Dimitri gave Byleth a small smile as he could tell that she still didn't like being the center of attention. A small chuckle did escape him as he watched her struggle to not only look in his direction but pay attention to all her students. He never realized that his heart could know such peace again.

Seteth gestured for her to talk about herself and she stiffened slightly. She fiddled with her hands as she stepped forward to make herself more the center. It amazed him, how such a strong woman, who possessed such great confidence, could be so uncomfortable with speaking in front of people. But it was little things like that that had him falling for her.

"Hello, I am Byleth Eisner," she said with a bow. Despite her nervousness she spoke loudly and clearly. "Before becoming a professor, I was a mercenary."

Loud gasps and murmurs erupted form the students and Byleth began to squirm a little. A small frown settled on the prince's face as he realized that the chatter wasn't because she was a former mercenary but that the crowned prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus' first love was a mercenary. He turned slightly in his chair to glare at Sylvain, who thankfully seemed to understand his error.

It took a bit of effort but Seteth was able to get the class to quiet down some so that she may continue. She was a bit hesitant to continue but her voice was once again steady and loud. Dimitri had to admit he was jealous, such speaking skills were expected of him and yet he struggled.

"A sword is my preferred choice of weapon, but I am skilled in all martial weapons and hand to hand combat as well as both Reason and Faith magic. I am also proficient on horseback, but I do lack experience when it comes to flying mounts or heavy armor." She finished speaking and once again loud murmurs erupted from the class.

Annette quickly shot her hand up in the air. Byleth looked at Seteth for a second and he just nudged his head towards the raised hand. A bit hesitantly, Byleth pointed at Annette.

"What kind of spells can you cast?" Annette asked a bit too excitedly, and Mercedes giggled from the seat next to her.

"I have a talent for fire-based spells as well as Faith magic."

"What is the highest spell level you can cast?" Annette asked before permission could be given and Seteth frowned.

"For Reason I can cast Bolganone and for Faith I have almost mastered Aura." More gasps from students.

"Where did you learn magic from?" Again, Annette didn't wait for permission and Seteth quietly sighed.

"I learned healing magic from a few churches I visited. As for Reason magic there was a warlock, who traveled with my father's company for a few months and who taught me the basics."

"You are mostly self-taught?!" Byleth gave a small nod and even more murmurs erupted.

"By, became even more incredible," Ingrid said quietly. Dimitri glanced at her and smiled at the sight of the wide smile that adored Ingrid's face as she watched Byleth continue to speak. "Though I cannot say that I expected anything less from her."

"As you can see," Seteth started in a loud voice and eventually lowered it when the class fell silent. "Miss Eisner here, is the most versatile professor Garreg Mach has ever had and so the church will be expecting for the Blue Lions to be learning a lot from her."

Many of the students were squirming with the need to ask so many questions. With a sigh Seteth allowed for questions to be asked. Sylvain raised his hand and asked his question before he was even called on. Seteth simply shook his head.

"By, are you happy to see us again?" he asked with a little smirk.

"I am beyond elated!" she said with a large, dazzling smile.

"Such question can be asked after class, Mr. Gautier," Seteth scolded as he chose the next student.

Sylvain slid down his chair a little and his cheeks were slightly red. "Has By always been so…," he mumbled, and Dimitri glanced at him from over his shoulder. The two locked eyes and the red head smirked. "Do not worry Your Highness, even I will not be so bold as to flirt with the future queen of Faerghus."

Dimitri quickly faced forward, in ordered to hide his blush. He wasn't even aware of the small glare he had on until Sylvain's comment. Burying his face into his arms, he peeked at the woman he longed for through the small gasps in his arms.

Her smile was so captivating that he couldn't look away- not that he ever wanted too. He didn't know if was just because he had not seen her in so long or because of his feelings possibly blinding him but her smile was so much more captivating than he remembered. All he could remember were small and subdue smiles from her. It didn't really matter, he decided, as he very much loved her smile either way.

"Fight me!" Felix shouted and it disrupted the small tranquility that Dimitri was in.

A large sigh escaped Seteth. "Now Mr. Fraldarius there are so many issues to your statement that I do not even know where to begin." He paused to shake his head. "One, that is no way to speak to your professor. Two, such a demand is outrageous and will not be fulfilled as Garreg Mach does not wish to promote violence. Three, such an aggressive tone can be seen as a threat and Garreg Mach will not tolerate that." Seteth continued to list off more points and Felix just slumped back into his chair with a loud gruff. When Seteth finished his mini lecture the mood slowly lifted in the room.

The classroom was filled with chatter as many of the students fought to ask questions. Many of the questions were simple but had shocking answers to some of the students, like how long had she ben training, her greatest opponent, and other similar questions. It was going fine until one student got a little too carried away with his question.

"When did you first kill someone?" the student innocently asked.

Instantly the mood soured, and the class was silent. Dimitri watched with a frown at how Byleth stiffened and her smile strained. Seteth was about to push pass the question but she had decided to answer it and Seteth's expression was unreadable.

"It happened when I was twelve," Byelth said and hushed murmurs broke the dead silence. She looked down at her intertwined hands and was seemingly unaware of the scathing look on Seteth's face; Dimitri didn't know that that man was capable of such a strong emotion.

The prince pressed his lips tightly together and he waited for her to continue. He could vaguely remember a time when Byleth had been avoiding him and now he understood why. Sympathetic eyes started at her, who seemed to have found her resolve.

"I wasn't a mercenary that young. My father never wanted me to become one in the first place." Seteth relaxed a little but his anger was still very much present. "When we were at camp my father's mercenary company was ambushed by the remains of a bandit group that my father's group had taken out a year prior." Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats. "I had ran to hide but a bandit had noticed me and gave chase." She briefly looked down and then back at everyone. "My father had trained me well, as I was able to kill the low skilled bandit…"

The murmurs returned and Dimitri ignored his own friends' whispers to stare at the former mercenary. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she stared at the floor before her and he desperately wished to know what she was thinking. When a hand was placed on her shoulder, she jumped slightly and she looked at the owner, Seteth. His anger was gone and was replaced with a look of sympathy.

"I think that is enough of the questions for now," Seteth said and no one complained. With a slight gesture, he motioned for Byleth to step forward with a stack of papers in her hand. "I know when the year started you all had filled out a form stating what you wanted to learn at your time at Garreg Mach but with a new professor, who possess new skills, as well as some time have passed since then we have decided on having you all fill out the form again so that Miss Eisner may better plan her agenda."

When Byleth handed a form to Dimitri, she flashed him a bright smile and he swore his heart skipped a beat. Their small interaction only lasted for but a moment before she had to quickly move on and once it was over, he tried to hide his massive blush by placing his head down on the table. Whatever little immunity he had developed for her when he was a child was long gone. He felt his chair being kicked and when he looked at Sylvain, he saw the dumb, goofy grin his friend was giving him, so the prince returned it with a weak glare.

Silence settled over the class as all the students went about filling out their forms. Upon completion the students were free to leave class early. Dimitri was only vaguely aware of the from that he filled out as he watched Byleth fidget. The strong, confident woman had many strong appeals, but he liked her more softer sides, as they have been a rare sight when they were children.

He just hoped that her slight hesitation wouldn't be something that his fellow classmates would judge her to harshly on. Scratch that, that was what he hoped they would focus on instead of her being his first love…only love he mentally corrected with a small frown. Once again, he rested his head against the table, he was far too weak to his own feelings.

Forms were quickly filled out and handed in and many of the students stayed after class to ask questions. Seteth had stayed behind for a bit but eventually excused himself and some of the students took that as a sign to leave. The group of friends sat at their tables waiting for a chance to be alone with Byleth but both Sylvain and Ingrid were getting impatient.

Felix pushed his way through the group that surrounded Byleth. She smiled widely but he didn't seem to pay any attention to it. "Fight me!" he demanded, and her smile didn't waiver. As if ignoring his demand, she wrapped her arms around him, and he burst out into a massive blush. Dimitri quickly got onto his feet fearing an outburst but froze when he saw the fond smile Felix was sporting as well as the small gesture of returning the hug.

Sylvain whistled loudly as he made his way over. With a bright red face, Felix shoved Byleth away so hard that she stumbled back into her desk. Felix was about to apologize or at least that is what Dimitri hoped he was going to do, until a comment from Sylvain silenced the swordsman. Ingrid punched Sylvain in the arm as she made her way over.

As if not being aware of what just happened or she just simply didn't care, Byleth rushed over to Ingrid and hugged her. Ingrid returned the gesture, and no one dared to disturb the women. A few moments passed, before the new professor pulled away to address the sniveling blonde.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Daisy!" Byleth said and Ingrid finally gave in and allowed herself to cry as she hugged the other woman again. "You grew up to be beautiful, just as I expected. I am sure that you are just as strong."

Ingrid said something but it was unintelligible. Byleth said nothing and just patted Ingrid on the back. Eventually Sylvain intervened and separated the two while handing Ingrid his handkerchief.

Byleth's eyes landed on her final, old friend, Dedue. She walked over to him and the two stared down each other for a moment. The few remaining outsiders watched the situation with great curiosity.

"Sha," she said, and his eyes widen. "It's good to see you again." Dedue nodded. "May I hug you?"

He shook his head. "I don't think that will be wised," he said, and she frowned.

With a small laugh, Dimitri pushed her towards the quiet man. She fell onto him, giving her the perfect excuse to wrap her arms around him. A light shade of pink colored Dedue's face and he remained stubbornly rigid, though if she minded, she did not show it.

Dimitri found their height distances to be amusing as she barely reached his chest. She looked up at Dedue, but he was unable to meet her gaze. With a little smile she went back to resting her head against his chest.

"You have gotten so tall." He remained quiet. "I'm going to need you to stop growing, okay?" Still no response. "I missed you." After that Dedue was as stiff as a board and she finally released him with a laugh.

The last remaining outsiders left, leaving the friends alone. Felix recovered from his earlier embarrassment and marched back to Byleth. "Fight me!" he demanded again, and she just stared at him.

"No," she simply said, and Felix was flabbergasted.

"And why not?" It took him a moment to recover and respond with that.

"Because in the four years since I last seen you, your manners have detreated into such an abysmal state." A snort escaped both Dimitri and Ingrid as they tried to contain their laughter while Sylvain didn't bother trying to hide his. "Not a please or even a hello."

A shade of pink colored Felix's cheek and he was unable to maintain eye contact with her. "Fight me…please…" His please was strained.

"No."

He stomped his foot and invaded her personal space with a scowl. Dimitri fidgeted in his spot as he looked between his two friends. She didn't waiver and the prince had to wonder if she was already aware of Felix's change or if her poker face was still that good.

"I don't have time for a duel," she said, and Felix's scowl deepened but he did back up. "I have lessons to attended to after the other classes are done for the day."

"Oh, and what can Garreg Mach possibly teach you?" Sylvain asked as he expertly destroyed the tension. "By the sounds of it, you already an incredibly skilled individual."

"I don't know the first thing about being a professor," Byleth admitted with a small scowl. She stared at the floor and huffed. "I'm a mercenary. It would make more sense for me to become a knight or guard instead." Her brows furrowed and she glared even more at the floor.

"Byleth," Dimitri called softly but his attempt to comfort her went unfished as Sylvain over spoke him.

"You will be a fine professor," the Gautier said with a little smile. "You already have some experience with teaching us."

She finally looked up but was still frowning. "I was just helping with the instructions you already had."

"You have nothing to worry about By," Ingrid said, once she was control over herself. "You have the talent to be a great professor." Byleth's frown remained. "And we will all be willing to help you if you need it." A small smile settled on Byleth's face.

* * *

Evening had settled in for the day and Dimitri sat in his room after dinner with a few candles littered around his room ready for the night's decent that he would be ignorant too. Alone in his room he abandoned his school uniform in favor of more comfortable clothes, a simple white shirt, brown trousers, and no gauntlets to hide his hand. It was the most vulnerable he allowed himself to be in so long and he wasn't even aware of it.

Once Professor Hannenman had finished teaching, he had fetched Byleth for her lessons and kept her for the rest of the day. Dimitri had very much wanted to eat dinner with her, but he never got the chance. He knew he would have many chances to eat with her, but his disappointment was great, and he spent his entire dinner pouting and he still was.

His pout finally vanished when he pulled out her dagger and his little leather patch. A smile danced on his lips as he looked over the items. The time to return the dagger came far sooner than he was expecting, and he had no complaints to that.

A knock at his door had him jumping in his seat. He glanced out his window for a second and discovered that night had arrived. A small frown formed on his face as he was sure that the person, at the door, was most likely Dedue trying to help his liege get ready for bed, despite the numerous protests and telling him to do no such things.

"Dedue, please," Dimitri started as he began to open the door. "I am a grown-" He stopped when he noticed that it was not Dedue but Byleth, instead.

She looked up from the paper in her hand and smiled. "I got it right!" she cheerfully said, and he could feel his cheeks heating up. The large, heavy, grey tunics that he had seen her wearing since they left Remire Village were gone and instead she wore a simple but tight black shirt and tight short, shorts. His face broke out into a blush as his mind saved all her curves and newly exposed skin that the tunics had hide away to memory. His mind barely registered the scars that covered her arms or legs.

"B-By?! What are you doing here?" he stumbled to say not for the answer but to steer his mind in a different direction. It had been quite some time since he had such impure but delightful thoughts.

"I wanted to see you before I went to bed." With cheeks a blaze, he watched her fold up the paper and hid it away in a back pocket. "May, I come in?"

"Oh yes!" he shouted as he pushed his door open wide. "Please come in." He nearly whispered the rest as he didn't want to alert Felix or Sylvain, especially Sylvain, to her presence.

She looked around his room as she walked inside. Her eyes landed on the pile of armor sprayed across his floor, near the window, and he felt his cheeks warm for a new reason. If he had known that she was going to come he would have cleaned up a bit.

"P-please, have a seat." She looked at him and then to the bed he was gesturing too. Without saying anything she sat at the edge of his bed and he shrieked internally. He couldn't fathom why he offered the bed and not the chair.

"I am sorry that I have no tea to offer." He was proud that he was at least able to say that calmly. He also made a mental note to buy a tea set and have tea on hand for future visits. He was giddy just from the mere thought that she would visit him again.

Dimitri hovered in the middle of the room as he didn't know where to sit. He was worried that if he sat at his desk, it would come off rude as it might be seen as his area, where she wasn't allowed. But he couldn't sit on the bed with her, it would be improper! Not that their situation wasn't already improper, alone in a room after dark. His cheeks burned at the thought. He glanced at her and fought back a sigh as he was sure, she wasn't even aware of what people would think if they discovered them right then.

His fingers fidgeted as he did not know what to do. It wasn't the first time he was alone in a room with Byleth. Four years might have passed by still…He glanced at her for a moment but quickly looked away, he wanted to act like nothing had really changed but everything did. He was no longer a young, innocent boy, who just wanted his crush to look only at him. He was now a young man, with goals, ambitions, and…desires. She was now an incredibly, attractive, young woman, who was now of marriageable age…That thought did not sit well with him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. She looked at him so innocently, so unaware of his inner turmoil. He glanced at her hands, she had no rings and he wanted to be happy about that, but he knew that she wasn't the type to wear one, even if it was a possible wedding band…

He had asked her to wait for him, but he knew that was an unreasonable request. After everything he had put her through, was it even right for him to hold such feelings? If she did find someone, he had no right to feel angry or jealous and yet…He was horrible, and he knew that. He was so lost in his own joy that he had not even begged her for her forgiveness; he should have prostrated himself before her as soon as they were reunited. Clenching his fists tightly he turned slightly away from her in shame. From the corner of his eyes he could see her getting up.

He bowed deeply before she could close their little distance. His fingers dug into his legs with great force that would leave several bruises. "Byleth, I beg of you for your forgiveness." He hated his tiny room that prevented from properly showing her all the respect she deserved. He heard a mumbled "what" escape her, but he did not raise his head. "I did such a deplorable thing to you! And I know mere words will never be enough to make it up to you!"

"I'm sorry but I do not know what you are apologizing for." He gritted his teeth.

He did not raise his head. "…For when I imprisoned you."

A heavy silence fell over them and he maintained his bow. He could feel a great pressure on him, weighing him down. Slowly, he felt an all too familiar feeling of hands clawing at him, trying to drag him down.

"Arise Aster," she demanded, and he found it hard to obey.

It took a great effort to break free of the strong grips that helped him down and to stand straight. Her frown only revived the pressure as he now felt someone pulling at his arms and another holding his legs. He soon felt arms wrapped around his chest and he could feel the pressure of someone leaning on his back. He squeezed his eyes shut, in a pathetic attempt to try and ignore the voice that would soon follow.

The voice never came, and he flinched when he felt rough but warm hands cupped his check. Slowly he dared to open his eyes and was pleased to see it was Byleth and no other. Her frown was gone and was replaced with a look of concern. He tried to put her fears to rest by giving her a small smile.

"Are you alright?" He wasn't too confident with his voice so he just nodded as best as he could in her light grip. Her look of concern only lasted for a few seconds before giving way to a small smile. She tried to pull her hands back, but he quickly grabbed them as he wasn't ready to give up her warmth.

"Aster, you have nothing to apologize for. I told you such a thing in my letter, did I not?" He frowned. "I understand why you did it, so I do not blame you." His frowned didn't change. "Aster," she paused to step forward, "I don't hate you, I never could, but I will forgive you nonetheless." While he felt that she was forgiving him too easily, it was nice to hear.

"Do you forgive me for breaking my promise?" He arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't able to become your knight." She glared down at the floor. "I still can't become your knight."

He ran his thumb over her knuckles and marveled at how rough her hands were. Usually all the female hands he had to hold were so soft that he feared that he might crush them if he wasn't careful, but hers, hers were strong and he liked that so very much. "And I told you in my letter that you becoming my knight was just an excuse to have you by myside. You are doing that now are you not?" She looked up at him and he felt so at peace to be looking at those beautiful, steel-blue eyes again. "In a way you are keeping your promise."

He smiled down at her and he finally took noticed of their height difference. When he was younger, he always declared that he would grow taller than her; at first he saw it as a competition but it eventually he saw it as a way for him to hopefully be seen as a man by her. He couldn't help but wonder if she was seeming him as the man, he was, or the child she used to play with.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles again. Questions bubbled in his mind, but he dared not ask any of them. He rested his forehead against hers and took comfort in her presences as his mind slowly settled.

"Aster," she said his childhood nickname so softly. He would accept everyone referring to him by his title so long as she called him "Aster." Although, a part of him longed for her to call him by his name.

"By," he mimicked the way she said his name, and he enjoyed the shiver that passed through his body.

Her eyes widen suddenly, and her cheeks were soon a lovely shade of pink. She pulled away, and loathe as he was, he let her go. A small frowned wormed its way on to his face when he noticed she couldn't look at him and was muttering something under her breath.

"Is something wrong?" She jumped but did at least turn to look at him.

"No, nothing is wrong." While she was looking at him, she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Have I offended you?"

"No!" she nearly shouted, and her cheeks turned a darker shade. "No... the moment was nice. I am sorry for ruining it." His frown did not leave, and a small sigh escaped her. "I…I just realized that I had never been so close to a man before or at least in not such a situation."

A small little "oh", slipped through his lips. It was his turn to blush. A smile danced on his lips as he realized that two question that had been plaguing the back of his mind had been dealt with.

"My apologies. I have forgotten myself." She still didn't meet his eyes, but she did shake her head. "I, too, have never been so close with a woman before." He added in hopes of possibly answering one of her hidden questions. He was pleased to see the little mental nod she did.

While she seemed to be lost in her own little world, Dimitri went to his desk to retrieve the long overdue dagger. He smiled fondly at it as he held it. When he turned back to her, he discovered that she was watching him.

"I have something that I need to return to you." She titled her head and he was pleased to see that she still had that little gesture. He held out the dagger and her eyes widen upon sight of it.

"My dagger!" Byleth took the weapon and quickly drew it as she inspected it. She stared at the blade for a moment, her large smile somewhat was reflected in the blade and only then did he wished he had the courage to have polished it better. "My dad will be so pleased to know that it is safe. He once told me that it was one of his treasures and I felt so bad for losing it." She returned the blade to its scabbard and held it against her chest. "Thank you for taking care of it all this time!"

"You are most welcome. I have been patiently awaiting the day that I may return it to you." She smiled warmly at him as she replaced her current dagger with her old one. She looked at her extra dagger for a movement before handing it to Dimitri. "Are you giving me your old one?"

"Yes, it is only fair that I replace the one you returned. Though this dagger isn't as high of quality as my old one." He smiled as he took the new weapon. "Besides, I wish to make sure you have some kind of protection." Her cheeks were a light shade of pink.

A comfortable silence settled over them. Her eyes drifted over to his desk and widen. He followed her line of sight and smiled when he noticed what she was looking at. Taking the little, leather patch, he rubbed his thumb over it before handing it to her.

Her eyes were glued to the item as she slowly took it. "You kept it?"

"Of course. It was the first gift you have given me." She looked up at him and their eyes were locked. "It is a precious treasure." He very much liked being taller than her as it made it easier for him to see all her tiny little changes her expressions made.

She broke eye contact to look at the patch. Her thumb ran over it and he could tell that she was noting the worn-down parts. Seemingly having her fill of it, she turned her attention back on to him.

"Do you still have that bracelet I made you?"

He stiffened as a dark shadow over came his features. The sounds of screams and steel clashing soon filled his ears. He flexed and unflexed his hands as he could start to feel the flames lick at his skin. He shut his eyes as his father's final cry filled his head.

The screams echoed in his head and the flames burned hotter. And right when he was sure that that man would appear before him, everything suddenly ceased and all he could feel was a gentle touch. His eyes snapped open and he was greeted with steel-blue eyes, instead of Glenn's lifeless ones.

Sucking in a deep breath, he pulled her in for a crushing hug. He buried his face into her hair and allowed her scent to ground him and calm him. She said nothing and wrapped her arms around him, and he was eternally grateful. They stayed like that for several moments.

Once he was calmed enough, he pulled away. Her concern was clear, but he chose to ignore it. He didn't want to burden her with his issues. He only wanted her to have a positive image of him.

"Forgive me. I lost myself there for a moment." He hated how fragile his voice sounded. "I am fine now." She was about to say something but he didn't want to hear it and so he silenced her by walking over to his bed.

He glanced at her from over his shoulder and saw that she was watching him carefully. Silently he sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to him, forgetting all about his earlier concern. With no hesitation she sat down next to him.

He stared at his desk, before him, as he wasn't sure how he wanted to continue. A sigh spilled from his lips as he folded his hands over his lap as he didn't know what to do with them. He had never really talked to anyone about the events of that day and truth be told he did not want to tell her anything; he did not wish to burden her with any possible nightmares.

One of her hands gripped his and he released the breath that he held. He looked at her and was held captive by her eyes. He didn't want to burden her and yet he wanted to tell someone, to have another soul know what happened that day. Dedue had came at the end of that tragedy and had his own nightmares and Dimitri didn't want to add anymore to his dear friend.

"I…," he started by quickly stopped. He pressed his lips together as he tried to settle his mind. The conflicting desires were just too much.

"Your bracelet," he started again but turned his attention back to his desk, "it saved my life. I died that day four years ago." In the end he decided to share very little; he would suffer alone. He didn't look at her, he didn't want to see the expression she was making.

"On that day, a sword pierced my chest," he paused to pull one of his hands away so that his fingers could ghost over where it had entered him. "I laid on the ground bleeding out, unable to move or even scream." He felt her grip on his other hand tighten. "I heard something shattered and soon I felt a familiar comforting warmth enveloping me." He finally looked at her and he was right, he didn't like her expression; he hated seeing her on the verge of the tears that she would never shed. "It was your magic that I felt. The bracelet shattered and released all its stored magic and it saved my life. You saved my life."

"Aster I…," she said in a trembling voice. Her voice was so quiet that he nearly didn't hear it. Her eyes drifted towards the leather patch, she held. "If…if only I made more than…King Lambert and Glenn…"

He swiftly covered her hands with his. "No," he said with more fury than he meant too. Slowly she looked back at him. "By, it is not your fault! You have done nothing wrong! Do not blame yourself!" His hand that covered hers, wrapped around one of them and squeezed it.

"The ones that are responsible for such an atrocity are the only ones at fault!" The more he spoke the more he squeezed her hand, but he was completely unaware of it. "I swear to you that I will make them suffer thousand-fold for what they have done! Their screams will fill the air, just as my father's and his men's did. Their bodies will bake in the hottest of flames-"

"Aster, you are hurting me."

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and released her hand. "Forgive me, I-"

"You wish for revenge?" she interrupted him quickly and paid no attention to her hand.

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth.

"I wish to help." He pressed his lips tightly together. He absolutely did not want that. He didn't want to put her in danger, to sully her hands with such vile filth. He was prepared to do anything for the sake of his revenge, but he didn't want her doing the same. He was the only one that needed to be tainted.

"Thank you," he said quietly, only to satisfy her. He had no intention of sharing anything else with her.

Silence fell over them and they were unable to look at each other. Magic charged the air and his eyes immediately flew to her. In frustration he growled out her name when she collapsed against him. He glared at the now magically infused leather patch in her hands.

"Why did you do that?" He let his irritation be clear in his voice. "I do not want you putting yourself in any kind of risk for my or anyone's sake!"

From beneath her bangs, Byleth looked up at him with a strained smile. She tried to hand him the item, but he refused to take it. She made no effort to sit up and continued to rest against him.

"I want you to be safe."

"Well, I do not want you straining yourself for my sake!"

"I didn't expand all my magic." He frowned. "I just need a little rest and then I will be fine." She slowly closed her eyes as she continued to lean against him. "I promise…"

"If you are going to rest than you may use my bed."

"But…," she weakly protested with her eyes still shut.

"No buts." He laid her against the bed, and she didn't fight him. His frowned deepen when he realized that she was already sound asleep. "Can you not at least be a little on guard around me." He leaned more towards her and stopped when he was just a few inches away from her face. His face burst out into a massive blush as he realized what he was doing and quickly got off the bed. As much as he would love to kiss her, he knew it would only be right to do such a thing when she was wake.

He walked over to his window and looked at the courtyard down below besides one lone guard, no other soul was about. He pulled the curtains shut before turning to look back at her. A huff escaped him as he realized that he should probably remove her boots so that he could make her more comfortable.

Dimitri gave a small glare at the leather patch, she still held. With a sigh he took it and the smile that he had been fighting finally won, when he felt the familiar magic in his gift. He shook his head slightly as he pocketed the item.

Sitting down next to his bed he watched her sleep. He pushed a strain of hair out of her face and his fingers lingered on her cheeks. He didn't know he was capable of still feeling so much joy. He rested his head against his bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Despite how long it took this update to come out I'm probably going to have another long gap before I can update again. I have a Model United Nations conference to go to this weekend and finals will soon be upon me. I'm ready for the school year to be over with. Ugh.

About the DLC, I will not be mentioning any of the new characters in this story. As for Byleth's mother's lore, I will be using her official name but her looks are going to change to match Byleth's more because Byleth needs to look like one of her parents darn it! Unless Intelligence System was to reveal that Byleth looks like one of Jeralt's parents I'm still going to stick with what I already wrote.

For anyone curious this is Byleth's stats:

Swords: A+

Lances: B

Axes: C+

Bows: C

Arms: C

Reason: C+

Faith: A

Authority: D+

Heavy armor: E

Horseback: C

Flying Mount: E+


	19. Chapter 19

I survived my finals! They were made unnecessarily more difficult thanks to the virus and campus shutting down. But it is over and hopefully I will have more time to devote to this story again!

* * *

**Harpstring Moon 1180:**

**Second of the Harpstring Moon:**

Dimitri slowly awoke to a pesky ray of light hitting his eyes perfectly. Groaning he turned his back towards the window and the offending ray. He nearly drifted back to sleep when the night's before events invaded his mind.

He bolted up right in his bed and looked around. A frown planted itself on his face when he noticed that Byleth was no where to be seen. He fell back onto his bed and glared at the roof.

It slowly dawned on him that Byleth must have ben the one to have helped him onto his bed at some point. He tried to recall if he had even slightly stirred awake to help but all he could recall was a peaceful, deep sleep. A sigh slipped through his lips along with the little frustration he had. He should be grateful for the few good nights of sleep he could get, even if the morning wasn't as wonderful.

Lazily he remained on his bed and absentmindedly stared at his desk. He barely registered his leather patch that sat upon it and a piece of parchment. He sprung out of his bed when the paper finally registered to him and he rushed over to his desk, forgetting to be mindful of Dedue below.

_Thanks for letting me sleep on your bed. Sorry for being a bothered. I'll see you in the morning._

_Byleth_

He wished he had awoken to her instead of the note. The poor little note crumpled in ease as embarrassment quickly overtook him and he tried to bury his flushed face in his arms. He was getting away to bold with his desires as of late.

* * *

Once Dimitri had gotten a hold of himself, he got dressed and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. He had been hoping to eat breakfast with Byleth but a las she wasn't there. He had tried to hide his disappointment, but Sylvain had saw through him and teased him throughout the meal. It was annoying but nice as whatever little barrier that had formed between him and his friends had started to vanish thanks to Byleth's return. Now if only they would call him by his name than everything would be perfect.

After breakfast Dimitri rushed over to the Blue Lions classroom. At first, he hated being the class leader but now he adored it as it gave him the perfect excuse to spend time with Byleth. His smile became strained when he arrived and saw Claude talking with her. He swiftly made his way over.

"Good morning," he said as princely as he could. Byleth returned the greeting and he felt a bit of his annoyance vanish, when her attention shifted to him. Claude had an unreadable expression.

"By, you were supposed to choose the Golden Deer!" Claude said and successfully pulled Byleth's attention back onto him. The princely smile left Dimitri's face and was replaced with a scowl.

"I didn't get to choose what class I taught. The Blue Lions had lost their professor, so I was automatically assigned to that class." Dimitri smirked at Claude, who gave a small glare in return when Byleth wasn't looking.

"That is not how my plan was supposed to go." Both Dimitri and Byleth arched an eyebrow at the Alliance heir. "I wanted By to teach the Golden Deer so I set it up to where Alois would see her teaching me and suggest her to be our professor."

"You want me to be your professor?" she asked with a little head tilt.

"Of course. You are a fine teacher." He winked at her. "I am only as good with a bow because of you." He gave Dimitri a little smirk. "Also, if you were our professor, I would be better able to help you with church issues when I would always be by your side."

"Thanks Meadow. You are always so reliable." She patted his head and Claude's smile was so genuine and sweet that Dimitri couldn't even been jealous.

The tanned skin boy lightly smacked her hand away. "Knock it off By. I am not a child." Even though he was complaining his smile remained.

A sly, little smile appeared on Byleth's face as she leaned towards Claude. With her little grin she pounced on Claude and ran her hands all over his head, messing up his already stylized mess of hair. The boy laughed as he tried to "fight" her off.

Dimitri was an outside, but he wasn't really aware of that as he was too focused on her sly grin. He had never seen her make such an expression before, the expressions she always made for him were small and subdued as well as innocent. How was Claude able to pull out such an expression from her?

The bitterness was slowly starting to take over the prince, until Sylvain's voice broke up Claude and Byleth. Sylvain, Ingrid, and Dedue hand joined them; Dimitri was a bit bothered that Felix wasn't with them. Dimitri hated how relieved he felt when Claude and Byleth had separated a little.

"Do you two know each other?" Sylvain asked as he looked over the two unexpected friends.

"Yes," Byleth said. "I meet Meadow two years ago and we became good friends."

Claude wrapped an arm around Byleth's shoulders and pulled her close to him. Dimitri was unable to hold back his scowl. "By and I spent several months all alone together. With no Jeralt around," Claude said so smugly, and Dimitri glared at him.

The prince was told the same thing on the way to Garreg Mach and it still bothered him as neither Claude nor Byleth told him what they actually did during that time. He would have believed Byleth that nothing had happened but Claude's smugness about it really bothered him. And the fact that not even Jeralt knew, bothered him even more.

"By!" Sylvain gasped loudly. "You cheated on His Highness?!"

"Sylvain!" Dimitri shouted in pure embarrassment.

"Cheated? What did I cheat him on?" Byleth asked with that little head tilt of hers. Four years later and Dimitri still didn't know if Byleth's cluelessness to Sylvain's jokes were a blessing or a curse.

"So, why were you two alone together?" Sylvain asked ignoring the prince's shout and Ingrid's glare.

Claude pulled Byleth closer to the point that he was practically hugging her. "That is our little secret," he practically sang as he looked the glaring prince in the eye.

With a slight push, she removed Claude from her, much to Dimitri's delight. "My father was in the Kingdom doing work, so I went to the Alliance to look for work. Claude had hired me for an escort mission," she paused to look at Claude, who gave her a little nod. "And from there it quickly spiraled out into a strong friendship." That was all Dimitri was told but based on that fond smile that Byleth gave Claude and the light blush the heir wore; something more had happened between them and neither were willing to share such information.

"You two seem really close," Ingrid commented.

Claude returned to wrapping an arm around Byleth's shoulders and got closer to her again. He gave everyone a large smirk and Dimitri wished he could just smack it off Claude's face. "I got to see her crest." Dimitri hated that Claude got to see it while he was only ever able to see apart of it. Why did Claude get to see it? Would Byleth show it to him if he asked? His face broke out into a massive blush as he realized what his question would entail.

"You saw her crest?!" Sylvain shouted. "Not even we got to see her crest!" Dimitri was glade he was not the only one bothered by that.

"Shut up!" Byleth shouted and everyone stared at her because no one had ever heard her speak like that before. She gave both Sylvain and Claude a warning glare. "My crest is supposed to be a secret, remember?" Ingrid punched Sylvain and Byleth gave her a small, appreciative nod. "As far as the church knows, I have no crest and I need to keep it that way." Everyone gave her a nod.

"But still…," Sylvain mumbled with a pout. "Why did you show him?"

"I don't understand why seeing my crest should be a big deal?"

"Because-" Sylvain didn't get to finish that sentence thanks to the two intense glares Dimitri and Ingrid were giving him, but he did gesture to having breast to help his point.

Byleth frowned as she folded her arms under her breast, unfortunately drawing more attention to them. "They are just annoying lumps of fat." Sylvain gave her a horrified look. "I'm thinking about cutting one off." Everyone was horrified at first until Dimitri noticed the smile Byleth wore and he stared laughing as he remembered that old issue she had.

"I do not understand how that is funny," Claude said and was eyeing Byleth.

"It is a joke I used to do when I was younger."

"That was a joke?!" Sylvain shouted with narrowed eyes.

"I started joking about it after a while. I was serious in the beginning. They are a hassle." With a small shake of his head Sylvain sighed. "But I see it as no big deal to show my crest to people I trust."

"Then will you be willing to show it-" Sylvain didn't get to finish that remark as Ingrid punched him so hard in the stomach that he hunched over. "Damn Ingrid…"

"What happened to no flirting with the future queen?!" Ingrid said in a harsh whisper.

"Ingrid?!" Dimitri shouted in a whisper and his face was bright red. He couldn't believe that Ingrid was also on the future queen bandwagon as well; they were assuming way too much way too quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" They both looked to Byleth to see if she had heard and they hoped that her little head tilt was proof that she didn't.

"I was not asking for me…," Sylvain weakly mumbled as he rubbed his stomach.

The little group fell into a nice little chat, after Sylvain had recovered. During the chat Byleth revealed where Claude's crest was by poking the teen's inner thigh, to which he had an understandable overreaction too. Dimitri didn't have time to be jealous as to why Byleth was aware of exactly where Claude's intimately placed crest was as he and Sylvain were to busy giving the Alliance heir sympathetic but knowing look, once they discovered that Byleth's innocent but maddening cluelessness remained.

The more they talked the more Dimitri's felt his jealousy melt away or at least he was trying to ignore it. He knew it was understandable for Byleth to have different interactions with Claude. He and Claude were completely different people but still…he would like to see that more playful side of Byleth's directed at him. At least he noticed that Byleth tended to look at him the most in the group, whither she was aware of that or not he did not know

When Seteth arrived to start preparing for lessons it was time to part. The prince was about to head into the classroom when Sylvain stopped him by wrapping an arm around the prince's shoulder and pulled him close. Sylvain gestured for the others to head inside and only spoke once the others were gone.

"There is a rumor going around that Professor Byleth did not return to her room last night," Sylvain whispered with a little smirk. "You would not know anything about that would you?" Dimitri's face began to heat up and Sylvain leaned closer to him. "You two have only just reunited and you two are already-"

"Sylvain!" Dimitri yelled as he freed himself from the older man's grasp. He looked into the classroom and noticed that both Seteth and Byleth were watching him and he became more flustered. "I-I have no idea what nonsense you are talking about."

Sylvain raised an eyebrow and gave his liege a knowing smirk. He leaned close and Dimitri grew to hate that expression more. "I heard you two." Dimitri's face felt like it was on fire and he looked everywhere but at Sylvain. Despite his extreme embarrassment he was grateful that Sylvain didn't disturb them at least. "I did not hear her leave."

Sylvain tried to wrap his arm around his friend again, but Dimitri avoided him. "I assure you whatever you are thinking did not happen!" the prince declared while still avoiding looking at the ginger haired man.

Sylvain's laugh only flustered the blond more. "I know that. You two were way to quiet for that." Dimitri vigorously shook his head before he could imagine how loud Byleth might be. Sylvain slipped in while Dimitri was distracted. "I just want you two to be careful." Dimitri calmed down enough to look at Sylvain. "By is our professor and if the church heard about your late-night visits, I do not think the church will take kindly to them." Dimitri nodded and Sylvain gave him a small pat on the back before walking toward the class.

"The rumor!" Dimitri shouted as he remembered and looked towards Sylvain for all the answers.

"There is no rumor about that. I just made it up." Dimitri sighed in relief. "Everyone is too busy talking about the Prince of Faerghus being in love with a mercenary." He gave his friend a glare. "Yeah, yeah, I will admit that I messed up on that one. But in my defense, I did not know that she was here."

* * *

Another day was coming to an end. When Byleth was first offered the teaching position she had some doubts. She couldn't understand why her of all people had to be the next professor but if Claude helped her to get that position than she would take it and yet…She couldn't shake the feeling that even if Claude didn't do anything the archbishop would have made her the professor or gave her some other job at the church that would have kept her close.

The archbishop treated her differently or at least that was the feeling that Byleth got in her small time there. The archbishop looked at her with such expectations, like Byleth was the key to something. Not knowing the answer and the fact that her father had been too busy to really sit down and talk with her, was starting to really bother her. She did not know if it was just her father's warning or if it was because of the way that the archbishop looked at her but Byleth did not trust that woman.

"She does seem to be expecting great things from you," Sothis said, and after hearing her so many times Byleth had stopped flinching, for the most part anyway; until the little girl, in her head, makes comments about having her hurrying up and kissing Dimitri. The new professor's checks warmed at the memory.

"Still, I cannot shake the feeling that I know her…" When Sothis speaks to her, Byleth does not see her and yet the former mercenary was somehow aware of all the little gestures the mysterious girl made. "This is so infuriating! Who is she? And what does she want from you?"

Sothis yawned and Byleth could picture the scowl she was making. With a little frustrated yawn of defeat Sothis drifted off and Byleth was left to walk the rest of the way to her room in silence. While there was a strong air of familiarity with the archbishop that Sothis couldn't explain, there was also a similar feeling with Seteth and the strange girl Flayn, it wasn't as powerful but…Byleth did not like being pulled towards strangers, especially to those affiliated with the church.

Her little walk had come to an end and she stood before her room. She wasn't ready to retire for the night, but Dimitri had told her that she needed to keep such late visits to a minimum, and she reluctantly agreed. Like it or not she was now in a position of authority and with it came responsibilities that she needed to remember.

With a small sigh she opened the door to her room and stopped when the room's door, next to hers, opened and Dedue peaked out. They both stared at each other for a moment. While it had only been two days since they reunited, they had very little interactions with each other as he so rarely spoke up, unless spoken too and even then, he would say the bare minimum. She also noticed that he would avoid looking at her and she couldn't help but worry that she had offended him.

Just as she was about to expect him to close his door without saying anything, he stepped out. The silence continued and Byleth wondered if she should say something, but she didn't know what. She was too dependent on others for conversation she realized.

Suddenly, he bowed deeply, and she frowned. "I ask you for your forgiveness," he said as he maintained his bow.

"And for what are you asking forgiveness for?" Byleth asked and was pleased to keep her tone neutral.

"I was the one that alerted the knights to your presence," he said and never raised his head. It took her a moment to register what he meant. With a small shake of her head, she sighed. Just like Dimitri he was to dedicate to his apology, and she wondered who taught the other the over the top bow apology.

"Arise Dedue." Unlike Dimitri he didn't seem to struggle with standing upright. She stared at him for a moment to see if he would succumb to some unknown enemy and when he didn't, she was glad.

"I should be thanking you for that." He said nothing but arched an eyebrow. "During that time, I was spiraling into a darkness." He was completely silent. "I had started to hate both you and Aster." He closed his eyes but not a sound escaped him. "You saved me before I could be swallowed by that darkness."

He shook his head. "I did no such-"

"You saved me." He pressed his lips together.

"But those men, only attacked you because…" The shaking of her head stopped him from finishing.

"Before I met you those men attacked me before and after that attack, they still continue to attack me." She released a small sigh of frustration. "You have done nothing wrong as I am sure it would only have been a matter of time before they had attacked me then."

Looking at him, she could tell that he was still wasn't satisfied. She shook her head and sighed again. She couldn't understand why neither Dimitri nor Dedue could be satisfied with her forgiveness.

"Dedue," she started and waited until he was properly looking at her before she spoke again. "Thank you for saving me before I could hate my precious friends." He said nothing and nodded.

A silence settled over them again. He looked at his door and gave her a small nod before reaching for the handle. He was so quick to end their little talk and she didn't like it.

"Wait." He did but his hand remained on the handle. "Have you given any thought to my request in the letter I sent you?" He arched an eyebrow but remained stubbornly quiet. "About being my friend."

He closed his eyes and let go of the handle. "I do not think that will be wise," he said with a small shake of his head.

"And may I ask why?" Her pout was matched with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I am a man of Duscur."

"So?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"It will only cause people to speak ill about you behind your back."

"I am a mercenary. They do that already." He pressed his lips together. "Dedue, I do not care what others think of me so long as my friends are okay with me." He said nothing. "I wish to be your friend." He was still silent. "Do you not want to be my friend?"

"I…" He closed his eyes again to take a deep breath. "I do not wish for you to be troubled because of me."

"Well you not wanting to be my friend troubles me."

A sigh escaped him. "I would very much like to be your friend." She smiled widely at that.

"May I call you Oak?" He nodded with a small smile.

**Fourth of the Harpstring Moon:**

Byleth was starting to get the hang of teaching. She didn't need to rely on Seteth so much and he was letting her take charge more and more. She still wasn't sure how she completely felt about it, but she was at least enjoying it more and more.

Standing in front of her students had become easier. She never really saw herself as a leader type but now that she was in a position of one, she was starting to become comfortable with it. On battle she did it naturally but outside was a new feeling.

Class ended and Seteth excused himself quickly and so she was left with a few minutes to enjoy herself, before she was whisked away to attend her own private teaching lessons. As usual her friends swarmed her, but she didn't pay them much attention then as someone had caught her attention at the door. Grabbing Dimitri's hand, she began to pull him towards the door.

He quickly pulled his hand free and she stopped. Looking back at him she tried to figure out why he did that until she remembered having to be mindful of their positions. She frowned as she couldn't see how holding hands were a problem. He always grabbed her hand when they were younger. At least she could take comfort in knowing that he was also disappointed.

Hand holding free they both walked towards the door, where her father awaited. He smiled at their arrival and patted her head. Slowly, the others joined them.

"What are you doing here?" Byleth asked.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Jeralt said as he gave everyone a nod for greetings. "Sorry that I have been so busy that I have been unable to come see you sooner."

She turned to Dimitri and gave him a large smile before turning back to her father. "Dad, look what Aster kept!" She unclipped her dagger and held it up.

Jeralt's eyes widen as he slowly took the dagger. "My dagger… My father gave this to me." He looked over the weapon with a fond look before turning his attention onto Dimitri. "Thanks for keeping it safe all this time." He clasped the prince's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"You are most welcomed," Dimitri said with a gentle smile on his face.

**Seventh of the Harpstring Moon:**

Byleth was given some time to herself and so she decided to spend it familiarizing herself of the area. She had received a tour before she started teaching but she didn't really pay attention during it as she had been overwhelmed at everything happening at the time. She knew Dimitri had wanted to give her a tour, but she kept quiet as she wanted to learn the area with no distractions.

She was about to arrive at the marketplace when a voice called out to her. "Greetings Professor," the guard said as she got close. "I have something to report." She titled her head as she was sure she wasn't someone worth reporting too. His voice did sound very familiar, but his helmet hid much of his face.

He said nothing else, but he was grinning. She tried to look under his helmet but he just maneuvered in a way so she couldn't get a better view. When she began to pout, he pushed back his helmet.

"Wil!" she shouted, and his smile grew. "I thought you left with the rest of the company."

"I was originally planning too but I asked the captain if he could get me a job here and well, he did. I think my mother will be happier with me having this job instead and I'll be able to send her more money this way as well."

"I'm glad you are staying. I was going to miss you."

His cheeks began to turn a light shade of pin. "Aw shucks, I was going to miss you too."

**Nineth of the Harpstring Moon:**

After a week of Seteth's supervision Byleth was finally giving the go ahead to teach by herself. She was nervous and so she decided that she would do her first solo lesson by doing something she was comfortable in, training. Afterall she didn't see the point in teaching about weapons if she didn't understand everyone's skill level.

As she waited for her students to arrive at the training grounds after their run, she sent them on, she swung a training sword to warm herself up. She felt way more comfortable at having a sword in her hand then a piece of chalk or book. Even though it only had been a few days it felt like a lifetime since she last wielded a sword.

After awhile her students slowly came in and they were in vary of degrees of exhaustion. She pressed her lips together as she feared that maybe her warmup was too much, even Dimitri looked like he was a little exhausted. At least she finally realized that the workout her dad made her do was not normal.

All her students were wearing their school assigned sportswear, light blue shirts with the Blue Lions' symbol etched on the right side and matching shorts. She never said it, but they looked ridiculous in those outfits, especially Dedue and Felix, but those outfits also looked way more comfortable than all her battle-ready outfits she brought. Because of her father's sudden order to get packed and not sure what to expect she only brought clothes to wear into battle and none of her comfortable outfits and she was hating it. Even though that sportswear looked ridiculous, professors were also given one as well, unfortunately for her it only fit the late professor so until a new one was made for her, she was stuck with what she brought. She hoped that her outfit would be finished soon.

"Forgive me. I should have realized that my warmup was not normal," Byleth said and many of the students gave her a look. "I have been doing it for so long that I have forgotten how difficult it was in the beginning."

"How long have you been doing this warmup?" a small boy with freckles asked and she believed his name was Ashe.

"Ever since I was fourteen," she paused to quickly do the math, "so, about six years."

"You have been doing such a rigorous workout since you were fourteen?"

"Yes, I started it after a traumatic event happened." Her friends, besides Felix and Dedue, gave her sympathetic looks to which she ignored. "I forgot about that as it has just become a part of my life. I'm sorry." She clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention and some of the more exhausted students gave her a small glare in protest. "Alright, everyone take a small break." Small little cheers filled the training grounds.

Her friends slowly joined her, and she was amazed that they were not too exhausted, well except for Sylvain, he looked like he was ready for a nap. She could not tell if Dedue just had good stamina or he was just doing a marvelous job at hiding his exhaustion. Seeing Felix, struggle to hide his short breaths had reminded her of a pleasant memory of Glenn and she chuckled a little.

"And what is so funny?" Sylvain asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"I was just remembering a funny moment with Glenn." She had peaked everyone but Dedue's interest. "For some time, he had joined my father and me for training." She paused to chuckle again at the memory. "If you think the warmup is grueling than you should actually try my training workout with my father. Glenn hated it. Every time he complained or back talked, my father would make him do twenty pushups and the number would only increase with every issue. By the third day, Glenn was the model knight."

"I…I remember a time when Glenn was really mellowed. My father always wondered why," Felix said as he recalled that time.

"I remember asking Glenn if he would allow me to join him for training during that time and he desperately made me forget that idea," Ingrid said with a small smile. "It…It has been some time since I had remembered such a pleasant memory of him." Everyone but Dedue nodded in agreement.

"Really?" They all went back to looking at Byleth. "Every time I remember they are gone I quickly think of a positive memory of them. This way they are never truly gone, and I can focus on the happy moments I had with them instead." It was something that her father had suggested to her after she and Claude had parted, and she liked it. It helped to bring her some closure, something she never thought she would have.

"That is a really good idea! I will start doing that! Thank you By," Ingrid said, and she had a nice smile on.

The friends started to happily chat amongst themselves, recalling more pleasant memories of Glenn; with Felix mostly staying out of the conversation but would pipe up with a correction every now and then. Dimitri had been silent throughout the entire conversation and was looking away from everyone. When he noticed her gaze, he gave her his princely smile and she hated it. As much as she wanted to talk to him about it, she knew it was a conversation that needed to be had after class.

With a clap she grabbed everyone's attention. The students lined up and she gave them all a look over. The break had done them some good, so she knew it was alright to continue.

"Today, I am going to test your weapons proficiency," she started but had to stop because of all the students' murmurs and a particularly loud "finally" from Felix. "I want you to grab your weapon of choice." She was barely able to finish that before Felix went and retrieved a training sword and she held back a sigh. "And I will spar with you with your ideal weapon."

With that finished the rest of the students went to retrieve their weapons except for one, lone woman with long, light brown hair. Byleth watched her for a moment before Sothis remined her that it was a professor's duty to check on her students. The young woman, Mercedes, Byleth finally remembered her name, gave her professor a sweet smile, calming Byleth some.

"Are you alright?" Byleth asked as she gave the woman a quick look over, she still seemed a bit tired.

"No, I am alright," Mercedes said in such a soft and delicate tone that Byleth knew she would never be able to match.

"I apologize if my warmup really wore you out. I will be making adjustments."

"Oh no. It is alright. If you have done it so often, it is understandable as to why you forgot how grueling it is." Byleth was unable to tell if Mercedes was being genuine with her understanding or was being passive aggressive. Byleth decided to not comment on it.

"May I ask as to why you are not choosing a weapon?"

Mercedes looked towards the weapon rack that was quickly becoming empty. "I guess I would choose a bow…" She frowned after she said that.

Byleth looked at the weapon rack and despite it being almost clean there were still several bows left, so that wasn't a problem. She looked back at Mercedes, who had yet to move. The soft-spoken woman pressed her lips together and continued to stare at the weapons.

"Do you not wish to use one?" Mercedes looked at her professor and smile, though Byleth could tell that it was a strained one. "You don't need a weapon. You can fight me with magic, if you wish." The smile still remained strained.

"I do not think she wants to fight," Sothis said and Byleth nearly jumped at her sudden voice. "If I recall her sheet said she wanted to be a healer and enter the church."

Byleth pressed her lips together. Not fighting went against what she was supposed to be teaching. She felt Sothis knowing smirk in the back of her mind and she bit back a sigh.

"You wish to be a bishop, correct?" If Byleth recalled correctly all that was required of the bishop certification exam was a high level of Faith magic, so she didn't necessarily need to learn how to wield a weapon.

"That is correct." Mercedes seemed pleased, which only troubled Byleth more.

"That is a good goal to aim for," the new professor started as she leaned against the wall. "If you wish to focus only on that I will give you all my support but," Mercedes arched an eyebrow, "I would like for you to consider to look at more combat options for your safety." The woman was silent.

"It is a high priority that the healer is protected but sometimes that is not always an option, so the ability to defend yourself is incredibly important." Mercedes looked down at the floor and was still silent. "Also, you will be better able to save someone in the middle of a battle." Mercedes went back to looking at Byleth. "Rarely the injured are able to make their way to the healer but if the healer can go meet them then their survival rate will greatly increase."

Mercedes said nothing for a moment but eventually nodded. "I will think about it." Byleth nodded. "What should I do for this class though?"

"Remain on standby for healing." Mercedes nodded. "I will think of a way to test your healing powers another day."

With their talk over Byleth noticed that the rest of her students were ready. She didn't even get a chance to ask who wanted to go first as Felix was already standing in the middle of the training grounds grinning. She let out a sigh as she made her way over.

"What a brat," Sothis commented and Byleth had to agree. "Strange, in your memory he is such a sweet boy. What happened?" Could the death of Glenn have really changed him that much? Byleth quickly realized that was a stupid question. Of course, it did, Felix idolized Glenn. She pressed her lips together as she wondered if Glenn would be okay with Felix's change.

As soon as the word "begin" left her mouth Felix was upon her. Over the few years she had spent with him she saw him develop into a confident fighter, but he had remained cautious, now he was aggressive. It was almost like Glenn's style but far more destructive, it was like he was abandoning defense in order to try to take out his opponent as quickly as possible. It was an idiotic strategy and she didn't know if he was depending too much on his major crest or what; either way it was habit she was going to need to fix.

"Take me seriously!" he demanded as he swung at her and she easily stepped back to avoid it.

"The purpose of this exercise is for me to learn your strength and weaknesses," she said as she effortlessly blocked another one of his strikes. "I need this to last longer than a minute." She instantly knew that she should have not said that, and she didn't need Sothis telling her that as well.

Felix roared in anger as he rushed her, and she fought back a sigh at his recklessness. His crest activated and a vicious grin spread across his face only for it to instantly vanish as she sidestepped away from the powerful blow. He growled out as she spun to slash at her, and she blocked it.

Yelling out, he ignored his sword and threw a straight punch at her face. It threw her off, but she managed to avoid the punch by leaning back. He then tried to grab her, but she slapped his hand away.

"Fight me!" He yelled and she frowned. It was clear to her that he was trying to break away from the Fraldarius sword style, but she couldn't understand why. The Fraldarius style, though rigid, was a good sword style to use.

Throwing caution to the wind he rushed her again and she shook her head. There was no strategy to his movements making it easier to dodge. His crest once again activated with his downward slash, but it never connected as she effortlessly slide around him. Three times in her little maneuver, she noted she would have been able to disarm him, let alone kill him.

She was at least impressed with his tenacity as he didn't skip a beat to try and jam his elbow into her face and only connected with air. He swiftly spun around on his heals to swipe at her and she slammed her sword down on his to halt his momentum but that didn't stop him from trying to throw another punch.

Byleth bit back a sigh as she canceled out one of his sword swings with one of her own. Before he switched to the weird punch and sword combo, he was doing much better when had stuck to the Fraldarius style. His new style, while slightly unpredictable, was too sloppy.

Finally having enough Byleth used one of his punches against him to flip him over her shoulder. When he tried to get up with a fire still burning in his eyes, she pointed her sword at him. Her victory and he begrudgingly accepted it.

"Cana-Felix," she started and stopped to remind herself that she was not allowed to refer to her friends by their nicknames while in class. "What the hel-" she stopped herself again as she realized that was probably not how a professor was to address her students. "That…That is an interesting style that you have there."

He said nothing as he got up, but he did give her a small glare. "It does have some faults, but we can work on that." He said nothing. "But first thing first, where is your defense?" He scoffed but said nothing. "I believe you are relying too much on your crest. A crest's power can be countered and you will be vulnerable if that happens."

"Oh? I did not see you try," Felix said with venom to his tone.

"I didn't have too," she said in a tone probably not befitting of a professor, but it was a challenge to his tone. She couldn't believe that he was the sweet boy that she once knew. "I can even counter the Crest of Blaiddyd."

"Oh?" Felix smirked and the class erupted into murmurs and she realized that she might have just put her foot in her mouth. Sure, she had learned how to counter a powerful blow from a Crest of Serios bearer and could probably do the same with a Crest of Fraldarious bearer but the Crest of Blaiddyd was an entirely different beast. "Prove it!"

"Please I-" Dimitri started to say but she interrupted him.

"Dimitri you are up." She didn't spare him a glance as she fetched a training lance.

"Are you seriously going to try and counter the Crest of Blaiddyd?" Sothis asked and Byleth could just feel the judgmental stare. "Are you made?! That crest-"

"You don't have to remind me," Byleth whispered softly to herself. "I have been under more than my fair share of blows from that crest. I probably know more than anyone else in this room at how devastating that a blow from that crest can be." Dimitri managed to give her two little scars because of it.

After accruing a good training lance, she turned to face everyone. Dimitri stood in the center of the room with a look of uncertainty while Felix leaned against the wall with a smirk. It was then that Byleth realized that a blow from an untrained eleven-year-old boy was going to be substantially weaker than from a well-trained seventeen-year-old. She was starting to have her doubts.

"I am not going to rewind time for you, if you end up making a fool of yourself," Sothis laughed.

Byleth got into stance and Dimitri followed suit, al bit hesitantly. Despite her worry about facing his crest, it was nice to be training with him again. That happy thought helped to comfort her a little.

"You two better not just stare into each other's eyes," Sothis said. "I do not think the rest of your students will be able to handle all that sexual tension."

Byleth had to cough into her hand to hide her embarrassment. "Sothis please!" she whispered into her hand.

"I am just saying." Byleth could feel Sothis drift to the back of her mind so that she could focus.

Felix mocked her for stalling and she quickly started the match, despite still feeling self-conscious. If she managed to pull off the counter successfully, she was going to rub it in his face she decided. She was pleased to see that Dimitri didn't come at her with the same idiotic little jump and downward slash that he used to do when he was a child. Though his first thrust was incredibly careful, and it was clear to everyone that he wasn't be cautious to test her.

His next few strikes were weak and obvious. Unlike with Felix she went on the offensive, hoping to coax the prince out of his hesitancy. He opened up a little and actually started adding a bit of power to his blows though they were still incredibly weak.

"Come on Dimitri!" she said breaking her stance to stand straight and show off her disappointment. "You are not going to hurt me."

He looked doubtful. "Come on Boar! Do it already!" Felix shouted from the sidelines.

Boar? Byleth looked at Felix, who was just gesturing for Dimitri to hurry up, and then at Dimitri, who showed little signs of being bothered by being called by such a strange nickname. She was sure her mind was playing tricks on her because there was just no way Felix would call Dimitri, of all people, such an insult.

"B-Professor are you sure?" Dimitri asked, breaking out of his stance. "I do not wish to hurt you."

"You won't."

Pressing his lips together he began to wind up for a powerful strike. He spun his lance around him, in a maneuver Byleth recognized as in an attempt to increase the likelihood of his crest activating. In battle such a maneuver would leave him completely vulnerable but if it got his crest to activate than it would serve its purpose.

As soon as he was done, he snapped his lance in front of him. Her grip tightened on her lance as she dug her foot in for the support, she knew she would be dependent on. She gave him a nod as one last signal that she was ready.

With one final pleading look that went ignored, he stepped forward and slammed his lance down, instead of thrusting like a normal lance strike. Normally that was an idiotic lance maneuver but with his crest activating it made it easier for her to handle. He gave her an apologetic look when their weapons connected.

Instantly, she felt the weight of the impact and she gritted her teeth as she needed to work fast. Leaning back, she slide her lance with her and the weight of the impact slowly weakened the more she spread the point of impact. She smiled when she saw the look of utter surprise on his face.

When her lance reached the "blade" of his, she countered his force with her own, though it took a great amount of effort on her end. She shoved her lance upward, finally splitting her lance in two but also broke off the "blade" of his. Without missing a bit, she spun her lance half that contained her "blade" and rushed forward and placed the tip of it against his chin. It took him a moment to register everything that happened, but he did raise his hands up in defeat.

The stunned silence suddenly erupted into cheers. The look of disbelief on Felix's face was worth the screaming of her muscles. She did it once and that was enough as she was ready to retire for the day and Dimitri had only been her second student. His lesson might have ended too quickly for her to get a proper reading on his skills but because of the bandit attack she had enough information to work with.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked as he walked over to her.

"I'm fine." He frowned and looked at her trembling arms. "Okay, I'm sore and I don't ever want to do that again but I'm fine and I did it." He smiled at her.

"Let that be a lesson to you all," she shouted now addressing her class that suddenly went quieted at her voice. "If you have a crest that doesn't automatically make you a superior fighter and for those that do not have a crest, you are not inferior!" Cheers began to erupt from the non-crest bearers, while the crest bearers looked like they had a wakeup call; except for Sylvain, who looked pleased.

Despite her aching muscles, Byelth continued the rest of the lesson. Everything had gone, smoothly except for Sylvain, who refused to take the lesson seriously. She quickly discovered that he was going to be her other problem child and he had a completely different issue to deal with. She knew he never liked training, but he was always cooperative when he was a child so why was he being so difficult now?

That lesson had been more eye opening than she was expecting. Her students were going to need a lot of training before she would feel comfortable with sending them into battle. Though she didn't really feel comfortable with the thought that any of them would one day have to battle. She just hoped that she would be able to reach out to her more stubborn students before they had to go into battle.

* * *

Once class was over, Byleth had rushed over to the sauna to rest her aching muscles. While her muscles relaxed her mind did not. Her mind would constantly drift towards her friends.

Felix's completely 180 of a personality, Sylvain's flippancy, and Dimitri's darkness, her friends had changed so much. She thought Ingrid had remained the same but no, the poor girl no longer possessed the confidence she once had. Byleth felt like she had failed them all, but she was determined to help them! Somehow…

Close to overheating she finally left the sauna after Sothis yelled at her. Her face was still flushed when she ran into Dimitri in front of her room and he stared at her for a long moment. When she offered to let him inside, he violently refused, and she was once again remined to remain proper. She was starting to find the rules annoying.

"I just wanted to check on you," he said and was unable to look at her. She guided him to sit on a nearby bench and he silently followed.

"The sauna really helped. I am fine now," she said now enjoying the cool breeze. "You should join me next time."

"No thank you!" he nearly yelled, and his face was right red. "I-I am not good with heat…"

She made no comment and sat in silence to which he was happy to oblige. Leaning back, she watched two birds fluttered about. The peace was nice compared to her earlier chaotic mind that was until Sothis disturbed it.

"You still have not addressed that darkness you saw a few days ago," the voice in her head reminded and Byleth frowned.

Byleth looked at Dimitri and eventually he looked at her with a little smile. His eyes were so clear, not a hint of the darkness she had seen could be found in them. If it wasn't for Sothis, she might have deluded herself into believing that she had imagine the whole thing. But she wasn't and Dimitri's eyes were not as clear as she would have liked to delude herself into believing.

Claude's eyes were clear. She may not know of his past, but she could tell that he did not have an easy life but despite that his eyes were crystal clear. Dimitri's were not so much. If she actually looked into his eyes and ignored her bias, she could see the darkness. How was she supposed to combat that?

Her gaze drifted downwards, and she watched as he grabbed one of her hands and gave it a small squeeze. Slowly she brought her sights back onto his face and his smile was gone. Unable to find anything to say she leaned against him and stared at the building before them.

"By, is something wrong?" he asked but made no effort to move.

_What are you hiding from me? _She wished to ask but remained silent. _What darkness plagues you?_ Another unspoken question.

Still leaning on him, she looked up at him. She stared at him for a long moment and the concern slowly left his face, as a shade of pink colored his cheeks. She wasn't sure how she didn't notice it earlier. Her fingers, from her free hand, brushed his chin and his blush grew.

"If you grew out a beard," she started and that grabbed his attention, "you would look like a splitting image of Lambert."

He pulled his hand away from hers and looked away. She sat up and turned to face him, but he still kept looking away. She didn't know what she said that was wrong, as she was sure King Lambert would be ecstatic to know that his son looked so much like him. She could easily picture him proudly declaring that fact to everyone.

"Aster," she called softly as she reached out to him, but he did not acknowledge her hand.

"I am nothing like my father…," he said it so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. Gently she placed her hand on his face and directed him to look at her, though he refused to make eye contact.

"Sure, you are." He closed his eyes. "You both are so kind. You accept anyone regardless of their background. You both are amazing people!"

He pulled her hand away from his face but still held it as he looked away. "I am not so great…"

She invaded his personal space and made him look at her. "To me you are incredible." He glanced away and so she took ahold of the hand that held hers. "I am lucky to have you in my life."

"I should be the one saying that." He rested his hands on hers. "Thank you for being a part of my life."

She didn't like that defeatist attitude. "You know, Glenn would be mocking you right now for the way you are talking." He stiffened greatly. She rested her head against his as she didn't know what to say, without make everything worse.

"I...," he started so quietly that she almost didn't hear him, "I cannot remember any good memories of my father or Glenn." He started to raise his head and so she did the same. He placed his free hand over hers that held his.

"I will gladly share mine with you." He looked at her and she gave him a soft smile. "It was weird at first, but I grew to love it when Lambert called me his daughter. I had two fathers to make up for the lack of a mother." Dimitri's expression was unreadable. "I always enjoyed it when we had tea with him and how he always made me feel accepted. The way he was afraid of my father was hilarious. And the dance I shared with him on your birthday is one of my favorite memories."

A small smile began to work its way onto Dimitri's face. "As for Glenn," she stopped as some of her favorite memories with Glenn were more personal and she didn't want to share those. "He taught me how to be confident after I survived the first assassination attempt against you. The matches we had were thrilling. Even though it had been dangerous I am still really happy that he let me see the Pegasus that was for Ingrid." She looked away briefly as she remembered more fond memories.

"Oh, a great memory of both Lambert and Glenn was when I first meet Lord Rodrigue and I asked Lambert what a mistress was," she stopped to laugh and even Dimitri chuckled a little. "The look of horror on Lambert's and Lord Rodrigue's face when Glenn 'explained' what a mistress was, was hilarious." Dimitri began to laugh more in earnest, and she smiled. "Though I wonder if I should treat that as such a fond memory of Glenn now that I know what a mistress is."

The prince's laughter slowly came to an end and he had a small but genuine smile. "Those are wonderful memories," he said as he looked into her eyes.

"You have your own too." He said nothing. "Though if you are ever in need of a reminder, I will gladly share all my memories with you." He gave her a small but genuine smile.

"Thank you." She returned the smile with one of her own as she unconsciously leaned closer to him.

"I have plenty of wonderful memories with you that I will gladly share as well." His cheeks warmed but he didn't break eye contact.

Someone clearing their throat broke the little moment and both Dimitri and Byleth quickly separated themselves from each other. They looked to the source and noticed that it was Dedue and his cheeks were slightly pink. He looked at the ground instead of them.

"Forgive me for interrupting," he started but quickly stopped when the others started speaking.

"It is alright," Byleth quickly said.

"You were interrupting anything," Dimitri said just as quickly and was speaking over her.

There was a bit of silence. Dimitri and Byleth were looking everywhere but at anyone in the little group while Dedue just continued to stare at the floor. Eventually Dedue was the one to break the silence by clearing his throat again and the others flinched.

"The dinning hall is about to close soon; you both should get something to eat." Nothing else was said as the two love birds began to walk towards the hall while maintaining a proper distance from each other. Dedue just sighed before he went into his room.

* * *

The training part went in a different direction that I was planning on and so Annette missed her chance to shine but I'll make it up to her next chapter…maybe.

I am sorry if the academy phase is seeming a bit slow right now. I need to lay a bunch of groundwork before I can continue to the more gridder stuff. I also hope you are all enjoying the fluff as I will be honest I actually didn't plan to have so much fluff but oh well, it's making up for all the cruel things I did to Byleth during the child era.

On a random note, I noticed that in Yuri's and Balthus's C support, Balthus mentions how he fought against Saint Macuil and how he destroyed the ruins in the process is almost exactly how I wrote the scene with Claude and Byleth. Why are you lying Balthus? That wasn't you. Sorry, I just thought that it was funny how similar those two events are played out.

Head cannon notes:

While a crest activation is completely random there are method that each crest has that can increase its chance of being activated.

Crest of Fraldarius: Quick, consecutive strikes.

Crest of Blaiddyd: By winding up the body to deliver a powerful blow.

Crest of Charon (Catherine's): The more the bearer is enjoying the fight.

Unfinished Crest of Flames: Likes to activate at the worst time just to screw with Byleth.

Stay healthy everyone!


	20. Chapter 20

I think I'm not doing too well in isolation as this chapter was a lot more emotionally heavy than I was planning for it to be. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

**Harpstring Moon 1180: **

**Eleventh of the Harpstring Moon:**

It didn't take very long for word to get out that the new professor knew techniques that could combat crest. At first, she was happy to answer a few questions but in two days she was being overrun by questions or challenges to duels. It was starting to become incredibly annoying that she had gone into hiding that day.

When she had made her claim to counter crest, she had only thought about physical strength enhancing crest, she had never taken into account the different crest that boosted magical attacks or those that could temporarily freeze a person. Since she had never fought anyone with those crests, she had no experience in dealing with them, let alone having a counter strategy for them. She now felt foolish for making such a claim and she couldn't go back on it.

Thanks to her necklace, she didn't have to worry about crests that boosted magical attacks as she was sure even with the boost those attacks still wouldn't be able to hurt her. The tricky crests she needed to worry about were those that could temporarily halt her movements. That effect would be deadly to suffer in battle so she should learn how to counter them and yet that was supposedly what her crest did. It was weird to try and think up a counter that could be used against her.

For her students, she was considering on learning how to deal with those other crests, even if she knew she would never be able to pass on the technique to them. One year of training was not enough to reach the required skill level; after all it took years of her father beating a major Crest of Serios into her that finally allowed her to develop the technique. But in order to develop such a technique she would have to train against someone with the major crest, of the desired crest, which meant her options were extremely limited to the point that it was impossible.

From her hiding spot in the gardens Byleth watched as the blue haired boy from the Black Eagles class ran past her and she was sure he was looking for her. When she had first learned about the news of her skills spreading, she was sure she it would mostly be non-crest bearers that would be seeking her out, but that boy had been really the only. It was mostly crest bearers that sought her out, mainly Felix and Ferdinand Von Aegir, the only student outside her class and the class leaders that she knew by name because of how readily he was with sharing it.

She had expected for her own non-crest bearing students to be interested but they did not seem to care. Dedue, she thought would be the most interested, since he was determined to be Dimitri's shield and such a technique would help in that regard, but he never mentioned it and she wondered if he really had no interest or if he just knew that with his current skill level it would be impossible for him to utilize it. Her other predominate non-crest bearer student, Ashe, also showed no interest despite such a skill could possibly help him gain some acclaim and help him be a little bit like the knights in the books he loved. Though she realized it was for the best that he had no interest as she was sure her technique wouldn't work with a bow.

Her desire to eat outweighed her desire for peace and quiet and so she left her little hiding spot in the gardens. She rounded a corner and froze when she felt an intense bloodlust. Immediately her hand went to her sword and a quiet curse slipped from her lips when it wasn't there thanks to the monastery's policy. As she spun around her hand, rested on her dagger, the only monastery approved weapon. Behind her was Edelgard and a tall man with pitch black hair and murderous, golden eyes.

Byleth struggled to keep her expression neutral and not make it so obvious that her hand was reaching for her daggers. She gave them both a smile and kept her focus on the man, even when Edelgard spoke. Not since the man that had attacked her in 1174 did, she ever feel such an intense bloodlust directed at her.

"Is it true that you countered the Crest of Blaiddyd?" Edelgard asked and Byleth briefly shifted her attention onto her friend.

"Yes," the professor said before directing her attention back to the man. She found it weird that Edelgard had specifically asked about the Crest of Blaiddyd. Anyone that asked her about her counter just focused on crest in general. She pushed that suspicion aside as she realized countering that specific crest was probably more impressive; even she felt that way.

"Will you teach me that technique?" Byleth's attention was mostly on that man but it sounded to her that Edelgard had hated asking her that. Did Edelgard not want to learn the technique or did she not want Byleth to be the one teaching her? The professor didn't know which was the correct answer. Once again Edelgard commanded more of Byleth's attention and though the princess' expression was neutral there was a look in her eyes that Byleth couldn't describe.

"No."

"How dare-" the man started and stepped forward. Byleth quickly grabbed her dagger but she never unsheathed it. He had only stopped because Edelgard had raised a hand.

"May I ask why not?" asked Edelgard, completely ignoring the man's clear desire to kill Byleth.

The professor never took her eyes off the man and her grip tighten on her dagger. "Because it's a technique that requires great skill and you are not there yet." She didn't know it was possible, but that man's glare had somehow managed to intensify. "Beside I don't recommend using my technique against that crest."

"And why not?"

"Because the Crest of Blaiddyd is a truly terrifying beast." Edelgard was silent but Byleth could feel her stare, even though she did not dare to look away from the man. "My technique is about redirecting the power of the strike and using my opponent's strength against them but that is nearly impossible to do against the Crest of Blaiddyd." She still the felt the stare so she continued. "Even though I managed to pull off the counter, I was exhausted afterwards. If I had done that during a battle, I would have just gotten myself killed. Besides, I suspect that I was only able to do it because Dimitri was holding back."

"Then, what do you suggest one should do against the Crest of Blaiddyd?" Byleth's gaze finally left the man to narrow on Edelgard. She knew that there were class rivalries but to her it sounded like Edelgard was seeking more than a helpful tip to be used against her classmate. The professor bit her lip as she didn't like suspecting her friends.

"Don't get hit by it."

"You-" The man shouted again and Byleth was instantly on guard. Once again, the man was silenced by a hand raise. Edelgard's stare was close to a glare now.

"I don't think you have a proper grasp at just how devastating the Crest of Blaiddyd can be. Avoiding it, is the best counter."

"Thank you for your insight Professor," Edelgard said but she didn't sound the least bit appreciative. Both she and the man turned to leave before Byleth stopped them.

"Edelgard-"

"LADY Edelgard," the man growled out.

"LADY Edelgard," Byleth said as she finally glared at the man. "May I speak to you in private, please?"

If looks could kill, then Byleth was sure she would have been dead ten times over. Though her hand rested on her dagger and she remained on guard, she refused to give the man any more of her attention. She watched as Edelgard whispered to the man and he nodded. He shot the professor one final glare before Edelgard stepped forward.

The women didn't separate themselves very far from the man, much to Byleth's disappointment. Ignoring the man was difficult but the princess' clear desire to leave was even more difficult to ignore. Biting her bottom lip, Byleth swallowed down a sigh at just how frustrating that whole situation was.

"Lilac are you alright?" Byleth asked, when she worked up the courage to do so. Edelgard arched an eyebrow at her but said nothing. "That man," the former mercenary glanced at him for a moment, "he is not threatening you, is he? If he is, I will protect you!" The younger woman's eyes widen.

"No," Edelgard said after a few seconds of silence. Her gaze drifted to the floor. "Hubert is my retainer. He cares about me." Byleth pressed her lips together. "I know he can be intense, but I assure you, he is only doing that to protect me."

Having nothing else to say the women parted. Byleth watched as the two walked away with so many thoughts swirling in her mind. She wanted to believe Edelgard about that man as he didn't seem hostile towards her, but Byleth was sure that man would gladly slit the mercenary's throat at any time. What did she do to deserve such open hostility?

**Thirteenth of the Harpstring Moon:**

The questions and demands for duels were starting to become too much. Byleth was starting to wish she never demonstrated the technique. The little desire she once had to learn how to combat other crest were gone and now, she just wanted to be free of such nonsense.

She had decided to spend the remainder of her day in the library as it was the perfect excuse to keep students quiet as well as keep the crowds to a minimum. She still had no interest in reading but since she was a professor now, she realized she should probably expand her knowledge, though she highly suspected that Claude was hording all the interesting books in his room. Absentmindedly, she scanned the bookshelves with no real interest in mind.

"Oh. Are you the new professor?" an elderly voice asked from behind her.

The light smile she had been wearing instantly fell from her face as soon as she laid eyes on the old man in grey robes. He wore a kind smile and looked like no real threat and yet the fear she had of that man was so intense. Unconsciously she took a step back and if that man noticed he said nothing.

"I am Tomas," he said, completely unaware of her inner turmoil, "I am the librarian here."

She could barely muster up a small nod. It had been a long time since she felt such an intense fear. When she was younger, she didn't understand the fear but now she had an inkling of why. Tomas seemed normal enough and yet there was something off about him, but she couldn't explain why. It felt like he wasn't human, or at least not in the same sense that she or Dimitri were.

"Are you looking for a book? I will be happy to help." He was smiling and yet the look in his eyes did not match.

"No, I was just about to leave," she said as calmly as she could. She needed to get out of there. Even Sothis was urging her to leave. "Thank you though." She stepped past him to leave but he stopped her by grabbing her wrist and a shiver ran down her spine. His grip was far stronger than what she suspected a feeble, old man was capable of.

"Leaving already? But you just got here." She didn't look at him and continued to stare ahead.

"I must speak with my father." Her voice was much weaker than what she would have liked.

There was a bit of a silence between them. She struggled to keep her breathing steady and her expression blank. After a few more seconds he released her wrist and it took everything in her to not run out of the room then.

"Well then, I do hope you will pay the library another visit." She barely gave him a small nod before she swiftly walked out of there.

She raced down the hallway towards her father's office. She did not acknowledge either Professor Manuela or Professor Hannenman as she passed by their offices, as her focus was solely on getting to her father's. Knocking roughly, she did not wait for his response before she pushed his door open and discovered that he was not there. Dread filled her as she stared at the empty room.

She was frozen in the doorway. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to try and fail to calm herself. Sothis calm words filled her mind and yet they were muffled by the pounding of her pulse in her ears. She was so ashamed of herself. She was no longer the weak, little fourteen-year-old she was now a battle harden warrior and yet…

"Miss Eisner?" a voice called out to her and she spun so fast on her heels to face the owner of that voice. With wide eyes she stared at Seteth as her adrenaline faded. He narrowed his eyes and pushed open his office door wider. "Miss Eisner care to join me for a moment?"

She looked at him and then into his office as his offer slowing pierced the haze that her mind was currently lost in. Glancing down the hallway, towards the direction that the library was in, she decided that she didn't want to be alone. When the door closed behind her she felt safe, even though she didn't know if she could trust Seteth or not.

He gestured for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk. He went about fiddling with something at one of the sides in his room, but she didn't see as her eyes were glued to his desk. Even though she felt safe her nerves were still frayed. She desperately tried to remind herself that she wasn't the same that she was much stronger that she could defend herself, even if she couldn't do anything against Lord Arundel…

A cup of tea was placed before her and she looked up at Seteth, who was looking at her with concern. She took a small sip of the tea, ginger tea, as Seteth went to sit on the other side of his desk. She wasn't really a fan of ginger tea, but the warmth was soothing and helped to ground her.

"Miss Eisner, is everything alright?" Seteth finally asked in a tone much softer than what she was used to. She gripped her teacup as she stared at it.

"Do you know where my father might be?" she asked as she wasn't ready to open up about a long dormant fear being reignited to a man she barely knew.

He did not respond right away and so she dared to spare him a glance and he looked upset. But then again, he always seemed that way around her. "I believe he went into town with Alois." She went back to starting at her cup. Knowing that her father wasn't in the monastery, destroyed the little comfort that Seteth had given her.

"Miss Eisner, are you alright?" She pressed her lips together as she continued to stare at her cup.

"I was just looking for my father." She knew that wasn't enough information, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything else.

"Miss Eisner," his tone was a bit more commanding, it reminded her of her father's and that comforted her a little. She looked up at him and his stern expression was gone, replaced with a more neutral expression, almost soft in a way. "Forgive me for intruding into your personal affairs but something is troubling you." She said nothing. "I wish to help, if you will allow me."

"I…," she allowed her voice to trail off as she didn't know what to say. Even though he was being comforting, she didn't think he would take to kindly to her accusing the librarian of something she wasn't even sure of what. She could feel his gaze and despite her feelings she wanted to admit something to him.

"When I was fourteen, I was attacked by a man," she said as she looked up at him and he stiffened greatly. She spent years trying to move past that fear of that event and for the most part she had but sometimes it still haunted her, and she would become stricken with fear when she would saw a tall, muscular man. She decided to not describe any of that night's events as she didn't want to bring up those painful memories while she was already struggling with a different fear.

"While I was in the marketplace, I saw a man that looked like my attacker…" The lie spilled easily form her lips and she felt bad, but it was still a truth that she never admitted to anyone, not even her father. Seteth was silent and she stared at her tea in shame. She felt him place a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him and that normal stern expression of his was gone and replaced with something much softer. She hated looks of pity or sympathy and yet his did not bother her and she felt almost better.

"I am sorry to hear that you went through such a horrible thing. I assure you; you are safe in Garreg Mach but if you ever feel in danger or are in need of comfort you are more than welcome to come and seek me out."

"I…I do not wish to be a bother."

"You will not." She gave him a small nod. He gave her a shoulder a small squeeze in return. "You make take all the time you need to relax."

She silently sat in his office drinking the rest of the tea. She watched him work on some documents and if her gaze bothered him, he never said. She may not trust the archbishop, but she believed that she could trust Seteth.

* * *

Once she was settled, Byleth left Seteth's office. Her father had yet to return and that was still bothering her, but at least she wasn't gripped by fear. Though she still wasn't ready to be alone.

It was late into the evening, which meant she shouldn't visit Dimitri and yet…She stood in front of his doors, hand hovering over it ready to knock at any moment. She might not have shared the current fear that was gripping her with the advisor, but she at least wanted to share it with someone she trusted.

Her father was the one she wanted to share that fear with but since he was still gone, Dimitri was the person she next trusted the most and yet…Something was already troubling him, it wasn't right to add her troubles to his. Her hand slowly returned to her side; she couldn't trouble any of her friends.

"By?" She heard Claude call for her. She turned to face him, and she smiled a little when she saw him with arms full of books. "If you are looking for his Kingliness, I saw him in the training ground."

"Ah no, I wasn't looking for him," she said a bit more somberly than she meant too.

He stared at her for a moment and then motioned towards his door with his head. "Hey, do you mind helping me out." Chuckling softly, she took ahold of his stack of books so that he could open his door. "You can set the books next to my bed."

Byleth knew she shouldn't be surprised, she did after all, see his room back in the Riegan Manor but he somehow still managed to do it. His bed was covered in books to the point that she wasn't even sure if there was a bed in that pile. She glanced at him and he was seemingly unaware of her gaze as he went about lighting some candles.

"Meadow, where do you sleep?" she asked as she put the books down on the nearest open space on the floor.

"On the bed, of course," he said looking over his shoulder.

She stared at the bed. She was sure there was some kind of order to the chaos that was his books stacks that he wouldn't dare mess up with taking the books off before going to sleep. When she couldn't figure out how he slept without removing the books she turned to face him.

"How?"

He stopped whatever he was doing to demonstrate it. His legs were tucked close to him while his torso was perfectly straight between two book towers and one arm was stretched forward that his head rested upon. Her body was sore just looking at him.

"That is not comfortable." He shrugged. "Don't sleep like that. You are just going to hurt yourself." He shrugged again. "Meadow!"

"I need a bigger bed. Think you can get me one?" He sat up and winked at her.

She shook her head. "My bed is the same size as yours." He overdramatically tsked and that made her laugh a little.

She sat against the ledge under his window as Claude went about finishing checking on some things. Night was soon settling in and she finally felt truly at peace. The linger fear vanished as she watched him.

With a huff he collapsed next to her. They were silent for a bit as he looked at her. She smiled at him and he continued to watch her.

"So, what is wrong?"

"Nothing."

He gave her a look to which she tried to ignore. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way?" She arched an eyebrow. "You can either tell me what is wrong, or I can annoy you until you tell me. And we both know that I can be very annoying?"

She stared to laugh. "Why am I your friend again?"

"Because of my rugged, good looks, of course!" The two broke out into a laughing fit. When they finally stopped, Claude took on a more serious air as he looked at her. "But seriously, what is wrong?"

She was silent for a bit before she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. Claude patiently waited for her to speak. "What do you think about Tomas?" she stared at the door while she asked.

"Tomas? The Librarian?" She nodded. "He is a good guy, I guess. He is willing to share information that Seteth is not. Why do you ask?"

She pulled her legs closer. "Because he scares me."

"He scares you? I am sure you could break him with just a fierce glare alone." She said nothing and continued to stare at the door. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed it. "Did he do something to you?" His tone was dark, and she didn't like it.

She shook her head, but she did finally look at him. "I don't know how to describe it. Something about him doesn't feel right and it scares me. I feel such an intense fear." Claude said nothing as he watched her.

"I have only felt this way twice before. One was for a woman, who I used to trust and as far as I know hasn't done anything wrong. And the other time was for a man that I am hundred percent positive is the one responsible for all those strange, mask people that attack me."

Claude said nothing as he looked at her. His hand, on her back, had paused momentarily but he resumed once he started looking towards his door. Seeking comfort, she leaned on him and he wrapped that arm around her.

"I will keep an eye on Tomas. If he does turn out to be a bad guy, I will not let him do anything to you." She smiled at that.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for trouble you with my problems."

"Hey, we are friends, right?" She nodded. "Well that is what friends are for. I will listen to your problems any time."

"Thank you." She smiled and he returned it with one of his own.

They fell into a comfortable silence, though the peace didn't last too long for her. She sat up and he looked at her. "Meadow, please don't tell anyone about my fear."

"What about Dimitri?"

"Especially not Aster." He frowned.

"I think you should tell your friends. I think Dimitri will be more than happy to help you."

She stared at the closest pile of books. "He and the rest of my friends have their own burdens. I don't wish to add to theirs with my own."

He frowned as he stood in front of her. "By, they are your friends, right?" She looked up at him and nodded. "I am sure that they would like to help you." Maybe in the pass, when things were much simpler, and their greatest fear was the Crest of Blaiddyd activating during sparring sessions. But now, their burdens were too great, and she didn't dare to add another onto their shoulders. She simply shook her head as she looked down again and he sighed.

"Your secret will be safe with me." She said nothing and looked at him. "I am the king of secrets, and this humble monarchy shall accept your secret as a token of your generosity."

She got onto her feet. "Your Majesty!" she proudly proclaimed with an over dramatic bow and he was slightly taken aback. "This poor peasant is in awe of you!"

"Your king is pleased to hear such news." He started speaking in a haughty tone and she couldn't help but laugh. "Now," he started to maneuver towards the door, "it is late, and your king needs to rest."

She walked towards his door, laughing. "But your majesty how will you sleep?"

"My poor, forgetful peasant, did your king not show you how he sleeps?" He opened the door.

"Ah, how could I so foolishly forget." She walked out of the room. "This lowly peasant wishes you a good night."

"By?" Both Byleth and Claude turned to face the person that called her, Dimitri with his hair dripping wet and a towel wrapped around his neck. He quickly rushed towards the two friends. "What are you doing here?"

"I was talking to Meadow," she answered and that didn't seem to satisfy him.

"About what?"

"Stuff," Claude answered with a smirk. Dimitri pouted as he looked at Byleth, who's attention was on Claude.

"Thank you, Meadow." The Alliance heir smiled at her and Dimitri's silent, pout of protest went ignored.

"Anytime. Now this king bids you both a goodnight." With a final, overdramatic bow he closed the door.

Byelth turned to Dimitri smiling but his pout remained. "What were you two talking about?" he asked again.

"Stuff." His pout grew.

"Is it stuff that I am not allowed to know about?"

"Yes." He gave her a pained look and she did not like it, so she reached out to him and gave his arm a light squeeze. "It really wasn't anything important."

"Then why will you not tell me?"

"Because." She began to walk away. "Goodnight Aster."

"Why?" he asked as he ran up to her. "Why will you not tell me?" She smiled at the discovery that he still retained his brat like qualities around her.

"Because I'm allowed to keep my secrets." _And because I don't want you worrying about my problems_, her unspoken words whispered in her heart. His pout grew but he relented with a small nod. She couldn't help but think he was adorable with that pout.

"At least allow me to walk you to your room, please."

"No." His pout turned into a full-blown scowl. "It's almost curfew, isn't it? You should be in your room."

"Can I at least walk you to the bottom of the stairs?"

"I would like that." He finally smiled.

A comfortable silence fell over them as they walked. She felt light touches on her hand and when she looked down, she saw his fingers skittering across her hand. Glancing up at his face she noticed that he was blushing and was trying very hard to focus on looking forward. Smiling softly, she wrapped her hand around his and enjoyed how his blush deepened but his smile grew.

They reached the bottom of the stairs without either of them sharing a word. He looked at their interlocked hands and she gave his hand a squeeze. She felt the same, she wasn't ready to leave but she had too and so she pulled her hand free and he pouted.

She stared at him for a moment, unable to bring herself to leave just yet. She grabbed the towel from around his neck and pulled it over his head. He yelped as she began to rub the towel all over his head. She laughed and ignored his protest as she continued.

"You need to dry your hair properly."

He grabbed her wrists and she stopped. One eye peeked out from beneath the towel and her breath was caught in her throat as she stared into that lone blue eye. She felt trapped in his gaze and she didn't necessarily dislike it.

The towel slid off of him as he stood straight, his gaze never leaving hers. Unconsciously she licked her lips and craned her neck towards him while he leaned towards her. There was an annoying little barrier that separated them but neither one dared to close it.

"Just kiss already!" Sothis yelled and Byleth nearly jumped out of her skin. "I cannot stand this!"

Byleth pulled her hands free and took a step back and her face was flushed. Sothis groaned and the professor ignored her. Byleth looked at the dorms, they stood next to because she didn't dare to look at Dimitri.

"Goodnight!" she squeaked out.

"Y-you too." She was glad that his voice was just as awkward as hers.

No other words were said as the two quickly parted. Byleth's face felt like it was on faire as she walked towards her room and the cold air would have felt nice, if it wasn't for Sothis' constant complaining. When she reached the area where her room was, she was still flustered.

"Byelth!" She heard her father shout and she instantly tensed up at being called her name.

Jeralt rushed towards her and she braced for an impact that never came. He had on a complicated expression that she didn't know what to make of, but she was at least able to tell that he wasn't angry at her. She reached out to him and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

She called for him softly and he just squeezed her tighter. When he seemingly had his fill, he pulled back and looked at her. He still had on that complicated expression.

"Kid," he said so quietly. "Why did you never tell me?" She titled her head. "That you still have a trauma from that attack."

She pressed her lips into a thin line. She felt betrayed that Seteth had told her father, but she realized that she had never asked him to keep such information a secret. Her gaze dropped to the ground, between them.

"I…I am ashamed of my fear. It still holds me back. And," she paused to look up at him, "I was afraid that you would think I am weak…"

He pulled her in for another tight hug. "I would never think that!" She returned the hug. "Kid, I am sorry if I made you believe that I valued strength above all else. It was the only way I could think to protect you, I am so sorry."

She pulled back and shook her head. "I understand. Thank you for doing everything you can to protect me." He sighed a little and shook his head.

"Kid, you are not weak. Far from it." He placed a hand on her head and messed up her hair. "You are the strongest person I know, and I'm sure Muharib would agree with me if he was still here." Her eyes widen.

"It is only natural to have a trauma after such an event." She pressed her lips together. "But you didn't let that define you or hold you back. You stood up to it! That makes you incredibly strong." She smiled.

"I…Promise me that you will come to me if something like today happens again, please." She nodded and he released a shaky breath.

"Actually, I have something." He arched an eyebrow. "Do you know Tomas the librarian?" He rested his head on his knuckles and closed eyes.

"I have a vague memory of him, why?"

"I…He gives me the same weird feelings that Lord Arundel gave me."

She saw how he clenched his fists and jaw. She might have been helpless to convince anyone in power that Lord Arundel was responsible for the assassins, but she could at least take comfort in knowing that her father believed her. She lightly placed her hand on his arm in an attempt to relax him and he unclenched his jaw at least.

"Did he do anything to you?"

She shook her head. "It's just a feeling right now."

"Okay, but if he does anything strange you let me know right away, alright?" She nodded. He gave her a long look before a sigh escaped him. "You should head off to bed. You will have along day ahead of you teaching those brats." She nodded, feeling a lot more relieved at sharing two fears with her father.

Goodnights were exchanged, and she watched her father walk away. She had yet to tell her father about Cornelia and wondered if she should. Cornelia never did anything and Byleth was reluctant to distrust such a kind woman and yet that feeling still bothered her several years later. She looked up at the night sky and decided that she would one day ask Dimitri about Cornelia.

Just when she was about to enter her room Dedue peaked out of his. "Is everything alright?" he asked as he stepped out. With a smile she assured him that everything was alright before wishing him a good night.

Despite the fear that had gripped her that day, Byleth slept easy that night.

**Fourteenth of the Harpstring Moon:**

Annette, the orange haired student in Byleth's class, had a talent for magic and yet she had insisted on learning how to use an axe. She had not talent for it, nor the strength but she didn't give up and so Byleth had taken it upon herself to teach the girl with a private lesson, and it was going about as well as the professor had expected.

Annette had started getting the hand of training axes but Byleth had serious doubts if she would have the strength to wielding the heavier axes. As a professor it was her job to steer her students away from such pointless endeavors and yet the girl's determination and cheerfulness had Byleth rooting for her. That being said, Byelth had still encouraged Annette to continue pursuing her magical studies to which she happily agreed too.

Annette released a cute little yell that did not match the weapon she was using as she slammed her training axe down on the training dummy. Byleth pressed her lips into a thin line as the young woman's blow would have no damage against a fighter clad in armor. Unaware of the professor's doubts Annette smiled.

Biting back a sigh, Byleth walked over to the closest open training dummy next to Annette. "That strike was better than your last, but your arc is too wide," Byleth explained as she got in position to demonstrate. She waited to make sure her student was watching properly before she demonstrated a small arc that would benefit Annette's smaller frame.

Annette once again tried the strike. She had done better but was still a bit too wide, though Byleth decided to not comment on it for now. The young woman's smile made it difficult for Byleth to have doubts.

"Annette," the girl perked at the sound of her name, "why are you so determined to learn how to use axes?"

"My father," she said but her tone had been somber, "he uses axes."

"So, you wish to learn them because of your father?"

Annette dropped her gaze towards the axe, in her hand, her smile was gone. Alright, that wasn't why and Byleth didn't know how to fix it. She wished she was like a ray of sunshine like Claude or at least knew what to say. She was sure if he was there, he would have no problem fixing the mess she had gotten herself into.

"Professor," Byleth nearly released a sigh of relief when Annette started speaking again, "do you know about the Hero Relic tied to the Crest of Dominic?" The professor closed her eyes as she tried to recall what little knowledge she knew about the relics. She once used to know a lot about them because of her studies with Dimitri but after being banished she no longer cared to retain such knowledge, after all, she couldn't wield one, so it wasn't important to remember.

Chuckling from Annette, broke Byleth out of her train of thoughts. "It is called Crusher, and it is a massive axe. Since I possess the crest to wield it, I should learn how to use axes." That made sense but Byleth was sure that, that wasn't the girl's reason, but she decided to not say anything. Byleth still would have to train her on how to use axes anyway as she was sure Annette's family was pressuring her on learning how to wield it, like with Sylvain and the Lance of Ruin.

Their little lessons came to an end when Mercedes had come to fetch Annette. Byleth was unable to ask any more questions about the relic, though she wasn't sure what to ask or if she even should. She no longer knew what were safe questions to ask about Hero Relics.

"Seems like you have another troubled student," Sothis said. "Add her to the list of all the other students you need to help. On top of helping yourself. I am not going to allow you to neglect yourself for the sake of others, do you hear me?"

Byleth sighed. As a professor and friend, she needed to help her students, but she had no idea where to start. She wasn't sure if she could even help when she had her own issues that she had barely been addressed. Could she even help them?

"Of course, you can! Do not sell yourself short!" Byleth frowned as she returned her training axe to its place on the weapons' rack. "These things take time. I am sure your presence has already greatly helped your friends. I am sure the little prince would agree." Byleth could sense Sothis' smirk and she refused to blush.

She felt a presence behind her, and she turned around to face Felix. Without saying anything he held out a training sword to her. She bit back a sigh. She knew she should be grateful that he didn't interrupt Annette's private lesson.

"Speaking of troubled students," Sothis mumbled and Byleth ignored her.

"I will spar with you," she started, and he lit up a little, "but you have to answer my question first." He frowned but gestured for her to continue. "What do you know about the Dominic Hero Relic?"

He pulled back the extra training sword to tap it against his shoulder. "It is the Crusher, right?" She nodded. "All I know is that it is a massive hammer." A hammer? She would have to change the training method if that was the case. "Oh, and it is a magical based weapon." And it was magical? That just further complicated things as Byleth had no experience with using a magic based weapon.

She gave him a nod as thanks, and he pointed the end of a training sword towards her. While she wasn't really in the mood to spar with someone, far weaker than her, she needed to reward him for answering her question as well as being civil with her. With no complaints she took the sword and he lit up again, he almost looked like the old Felix she knew.

Felix had amazed her. He took her criticism to heart. He still had a lot to improve on but at least he had some semblance of defense and he limited his punches to more strategic moments. She was honestly impressed and wouldn't even be surprised if he ended up being her top student by the end of the year.

There was a sparkle in his eyes that reminded her of him in his younger days, when he pulled off a difficult technique. It almost seemed like the Felix from a few days ago had been a terrible nightmare but she knew better. She kept those thoughts to herself and instead focus on commenting on the little areas he could improve on.

He adopted well to her critiques. While he was still far from being battle ready, she realized she wouldn't have to worry about him too much longer if he kept up the momentum. For his vast improvements she rewarded him with a hands-on demonstration of her crest counter technique, and he did not complain when it resulted in his defeat.

"You have to teach me that technique!" he cheerfully demanded.

"No," she said, and his scowl quickly returned, and all traces of the innocent Felix was lost. She wished she had turned him down differently. "I'm not against teaching you it." His scowl didn't change." "At your current skill level, you will not be able to pull it off. I only mastered that technique last year." He arched an eyebrow. "And I don't believe it is a technique that suits your style." He said nothing and stared at her, but his scowl was gone.

"Yours and the Fraldarius sword styles are aggressive styles." Which made sense as an aggressive style greatly increased the chance of his crest activating. "My technique requires using my opponent's strength against them. In other words, you need a defensive style to utilize it." He said nothing as he stared at nothingness.

"You always did favor a defensive style."

She nodded. "My father thought it would be best for me to use that style to make up for my lack of strength." Now that she uses magic it is no longer a style she often uses as she instead, favors a unique sword-magic style she created.

"Well, if I work on my sword play and finally reach the required skill level will you teach me?" She nodded and his eyes light up with excitement.

That was the Felix she remembered. Did he just have a bad first two weeks? No, she knew that that was just wishful thinking, he was probably in a good mood and nothing else.

"Canna." He glanced at her and she wondered if she should continue with her question. "Why do you call Aster, a 'boar'?"

His mood instantly soured. "Because he is one." He glared at a spot on the floor as if he was glared at the said man, himself. "A dangerous wild animal."

"What do you mean?" He directed his gaze towards her, and it was the fiercest gaze she had ever received from him.

"Because I saw that bloodthirsty side of his!" She bit her lower lip. "That side of him that loses himself to his anger and goes on vicious killing sprees against weak peasants that have no combat or training experience!" She didn't want to believe him. That sounded way too extreme, even with the glance of darkness that she saw, and yet she didn't get the feeling that he was lying either.

No words came to her, so she dropped her gaze to the floor. "He is a beast! For your own good By, you need to keep your distance. Who knows what that beast will do to you?"

"That…," her voice was weak, "Surely, he…"

"He is a beast! Dimitri died at Duscur and a beast came back!"

"That is too much!" she shouted and matched his glare.

"Do not fool yourself! That beast imprisoned you, even though you foolishly went to help him."

"He was suffering! He just wanted safety and comfort!"

"Stop being a blind fool! And see the beast that he is!"

"You are being too much! He's not a beast!"

"You did not see what I saw!"

"And you didn't see what he saw!"

The two glared at each other for a moment before Felix tsked loudly and threw his training sword at the ground. "I should have known you would take his side." And with that he left.

With a heavy sigh she collapsed onto her bottom and stared up at the roof. That could have gone a lot better, she noted. Another sigh slipped through her lips as she looked around the empty training ground, she should be grateful that no one was around to witness that.

She stood up and paused to sigh again. Everything was so much worse than she realized. She stared at the two training swords she had put away as if they could tell what she should have done. She wondered what Glenn would have done in her place.

* * *

Byleth stood in front of Felix's door, trying to work up the courage to knock on it. Briefly, she looked at Claude's door and wondered if she could talk to him about it but quickly dropped that thought when she determined that it would be best to not involve an outsider into this mess. With a deep breath she finally worked up the courage to knock.

It was a few seconds before the door finally cracked open and Felix peeked through. When he noticed it was her, he glared but did not shut the door right away. She hoped that was a good sign.

"I came to apologize," she said. He watched her for a few seconds before pushing his door open and let her in.

His room was actually what she expected. Neat and orderly, devoid of any personal touches. Nothing more than a temporary housing. It saddened her a bit, even though her room was exactly the same.

He glared at her and she knew she needed to speak. "I am sorry." She mimicked the deep bow that both Dimitri and Dedue had done for her, but she did not maintain it for very long. "I know about the darkness that you spoke of." He dropped his glare to watch her carefully. "I caught a glimpse of it."

He said nothing and looked away. "But I don't believe that he has fallen yet." Folding his arms across his chest, glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "We can still save him before he truly becomes a monster."

He gripped his arms and turned away from her. A silence settled over them. After a few minutes of nothing happening, she sighed and accepted her failure.

"Will you save him?" he asked so quietly that she nearly missed it.

"I swear I will!" He still kept his back to her but nodded.

**Twentieth of the Harpstring Moon:**

Nothing had really changed but she did at least feel like she had gotten closer to Felix, even if he was still acting like a brat. Teaching had also become easier and she was getting close to believe that she might have a knack for it. She had been expecting another easy day to pass by until she was called to the reception hall for a personal meeting with the archbishop and her advisor.

Byleth struggled to not squirm under the archbishop's gaze. She never liked being the center of attention, but she would gladly accept everyone in Garreg Mach staring at her than being the sole focus of the archbishop's gaze. Under such a stare, Byleth struggled to keep a blank expression.

"I am sure you are wondering why we have called you here today?" the archbishop asked in an overly sweet tone that Byleth just didn't trust. "We have decided on your class' mission for this month."

"Mission?" Byleth asked with her little head tilt.

"We covered this during orientation," Seteth said and his tone was slightly softer than the one she had come to expect, along with his gaze. They might have covered it but so much was happening during that time that she couldn't possibly have retained everything. She was just pleased at how much she did remember. "Every month each class is given an assignment hand selected by the archbishop." That did sound familiar.

"For the Blue Lions' mission for this month I would like for you and your students to round up the last bit of the bandits that had attacked you last moon," the archbishop said again in that annoyingly, sweet tone, as if she just didn't say she was going to send untrained kids into battle against bandits.

'I'm sorry but I don't think my students are ready for such a battle." The smile never left the green haired woman's face, but her eyes did narrow. "If you wish for the bandits to be exterminated than I, alone, will gladly accept the mission."

"There is no need to worry child."

"But-"

"They are going," the archbishop said in a much stricter tone that Byleth found to be a much more fitting tone for that woman. "You must not coddle your students for they will never get the experience they need." The archbishop went back to her overly sweet tone that made the professor's skin crawl.

"Do not worry," Seteth spoke up. "We will be sending a squadron of knights with you. Your students will be the rear guard. They will only have to worry about stragglers." That still didn't sit well with her.

Byleth remained silent for the remainder of the meeting. When all details were shared, she promptly excused herself. She did not spare any other glances with the archbishop or Seteth as she left.

Her fists were balled so tightly, and her jaw was tight as she left the reception hall. She barely acknowledged the nun that greeted her on the way out. She had swiftly made her way to the stairs and only stopped when a voice called out to her.

"Professor are you alright?" Mercedes asked in a sweet and soothing tone that Byleth believed fitted her.

"What has made you so angry?" Annette asked with a handful of books.

Angry? Was she angry? Was that what she was feeling? Dimitri had once told her when she was younger that she was angry, but she did not ever remember feeling so…so tight. She frowned at her lack of understanding.

"Professor" Mercedes called again. "What is wrong?"

The professor looked at her two students for a moment. Mercedes barely knew Nosferatu to defend herself and Annette had yet to develop a strong mana pool to be of real use in battle. She was supposed to send those two into a battle they were clearly not ready for? Byleth gritted her teeth.

"It does seem to be an idiot thing to do," Sothis commented with her own displeased tone, and Byleth was glad she wasn't the only one not happy about the news. "Those knights better be worth their weight in gold." Byleth nodded as she assured her students that she was fine.

* * *

I decided to postpone the bandit battle for next chapter as I didn't want a super long chapter and I felt like it would flow better with the next chapter's mood. Forgive me, I know we spent so much time in the Harpstring Moon but we are almost done with it.

I have been writing away too many close kissing moments for Byleth and Dimitri. I have outline for their romance and I kept deviating from it!

Stay healthy everyone!


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you everyone for the support, it really meant a lot to me. I am doing a lot better now that I got school to distract me.

This chapter is all about the battle as I wasn't expecting it to be such a long thing but here we are. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Harpstring Moon 1180:**

**Thirty-First of the Harpstring Moon:**

If Byleth knew she was going to be sending her students so early into battle than she would have placed a much greater focus on the importance of staying in formation, instead of the crash course she gave them the last two weeks. She was sure that they did truly comprehend the importance of it but remembering that fact in the heat of battle was a different story. That day they were going to learn its importance or die and that did not sit well with her.

"Your students will only have to worry about stragglers," Seteth's words echoed in her mind and she sneered at them. Everything had gone horribly since they arrived at the Red Canyon, Zanado, or whatever the hell it was called. There were far more bandits than the remnants they were promised; and if Byleth had been in a calmer state of mind she would have realized that was the case since the very beginning the bandits had ridiculously large numbers.

It didn't take long for the squadron of knights to be overrun and their commander failed to take proper charger; it was clear to her that they had never thought to take this battle seriously. Thanks to her taking charge and deciding the formations for the knights to take, they were able to rally and properly combat the bandits; but their battle had been too close to her students so she needed to get the Blue Lions out of that mess and quickly. And thanks to the canyon's layout and frustrating small platforms she needed to move her students to the front lines. At least the bandits had focused a vast majority of their forces on the ambush, so the frontlines were decently sparse and seemed to be a proper number for bandits.

After claiming the middle platform, her strategy had been to wait and have the bandits to come to them, but they never did. After a good thirty minutes of nothing happening, she dared to walk to the edge of the platform. She noticed two archers, standing close to each other, pointing their arrows at her and yet they didn't dare fire. She tore her eyes away from them to look at a man in the far back, standing in the remains of some ruins, she wished she could get a good look at him. Giving up on trying to see the man she chose to look around and assess what she had to deal with.

She stepped away from the edge to walk back to her students. They were all watching her carefully, but she didn't acknowledge them. Her gaze drifted all around her, but nothing of importance filled her gaze. She was sure that the bandits were up to something, but she didn't know what.

"What can any of you tell me about this place?" she asked, looking at all of her students. The more on edge of her students jumped at the sudden sound of her voice and she realized that she should do a better job at comforting them.

"It is a sacred site for the church that you need permission to enter," Dimitri spoke up. "I am afraid that I do not know anything else." She glanced at the rest of her students but they all just shook their heads.

She rested her head on her knuckles as she stared at the ground. Why would bandits on the run from the church run to such an isolated, sacred land protected by the church? Sure, the area made it nearly impossible for a large squadron of knights to be used against them but with their large numbers they also suffered the same affect. She frowned when nothing was adding up. It didn't really matter; they were up to something and she needed to act before them.

"Listen up!" she shouted for no real reason as she already commanded all of her students' attention. "We are going to advance!" Her students had already been quiet but now they were deathly silent, no clinking of the little armor they wore or the sounds of their hands sliding over their weapons, she was almost convinced that they were not even breathing. She didn't want to send them into battle, but she had little choice. They couldn't wait for the knights, less the bandits act first.

"Dimitri and Dedue, you two will be the front guards of your sections." She pointed towards the larger bridge that they would advance on and they nodded. She wondered if she really should be sending the crown prince to the very front of battle, but he was the only one besides Felix, that had any battle experience.

"Ingrid you will be Dimitri's support and Ashe you will be Dedue's." Ingrid accepted her roll quickly, while Ashe hesitated, and Byleth was afraid that he wasn't mentally harden enough for battle. "Mercedes you will provide them all with support but make sure to stay out of enemy fire." The young woman accepted quickly but the professor could tell that she was the same as Ashe. Unfortunately, Byleth didn't have the time to worry about that.

"Felix, you will take the lead to circle around the enemies on their left flank." He said nothing but nodded. "Sylvain and Annette, you two will join him." They both agreed but with no where near the same amount of confidence that Felix exuded.

"What about you?" Felix asked.

"Because I have the greatest mobility and range, I will be acting as a free unit. So, I will be running between you two." Felix clearly had his doubts, but she was grateful that he never voiced them. She couldn't blame him, even she felt the same. Even without the large drops, she was still expecting herself to cover a great distance without a mount.

Everyone got into their positions and they looked at her waiting for their next order. She pressed her lips together as none of them looked ready for battle. She looked passed them to look at the knight's battling, on the platform they had escaped from not to long ago, everything hinged on those knights holding back the bandits because they wouldn't be able to handle a rear assault. Keeping her expression neutral, she explained the layout to everyone based on her little survey she had done.

"You will all move on my mark!" They all nodded and braced themselves as she turned away to walk back towards the edge.

The archers once again pointed their arrows at her but did nothing else. She knew the archers would be the biggest threat as she knew her students didn't know how to defend against them; she was going to have to add that to her lesson plans once that nonsense was taking care of. She glanced towards the bride that Dimitri's group would have to take, there was one lone archer hidden away in a small nook. She could get rid of him but then she would be abandoning Felix's group and she couldn't do that. She prayed that Dimitri's group would be able to take him out before he could do any major damage. She wasn't really happy with relying on luck.

"My power is yours," Sothis said and Byleth whispered her thanks. "We must not let any of those children die."

Byleth took a deep breath before she allowed her magic to flow through her. Because she always favored speed, she never properly channeled a spell and accepted a weak spell in order for her to shift into attacking with her sword quickly. But at that moment she needed power and range and so she channeled the proper energy that allowed for the magic sigil to appear before her. The archers screamed out and let loose their arrows, but it was too late as she slammed her hand against the sigil and released the full fury of a Bolanone spell upon them.

The arrows flew past her, but she didn't care as her students rushed forward. She remained perched in her area as she watched her two fronts battle. She told them that she would help out both but now that it was happening, she knew she would be unable to do that; she would have to commit to one. She made a mental note to invest in a bow and some arrows for herself as that would increase her range.

She began to channel energy into her fingers ready to release a proper Thunder spell to take out a bandit that was rushing towards Dimitri's group when Felix's screamed out. She instantly dropped her spell as she rushed towards the smaller group. At the edge of the left side she could see that Felix was on the ground clutching his side while Sylvain was doing a terrible job at blocking the bandit and his stance made it impossible for Annette to assist. She had completely underestimated how much Sylvain's neglect affected him.

Another archer stepped towards the group and Byleth swore for missing him in her earlier observation. Sothis' calming words did not reach Byleth, as she realized that if she used the bridge, she wouldn't reach them in time, nor would she have time to properly channel a spell that could reach them. It was a potentially a suicidal thought, but it was the only thing her panic mind could think of. Taking several steps back before she rushed forward and right when she kicked off the ledge, she created a small blast of fire at her feet to help propel her forward.

She was barely able to land on the ledge below and her land was far from graceful. She knew it was only because of how much lower that the new platform, she found herself, on was and by the blessing of the goddess that she was able to pull off the most idiotic stunt she had ever done. Though she botched the landing she at least had managed to pull everyone's attention onto her.

"Are you mad?!" Sothis screeched into Byleth's mind but she had no time to pay attention to it as Byleth swiftly slashed against the back of the bandit that Sylvain had been defending against. Sylvain had barely finished off his opponent before she had rushed towards the archer to run her blade through him.

With the archer dead, a small lull settled over them. That little numbness was immediately lost as she turned to face them, and Felix also commented on her idiocy, but she ignored him. Sylvain was the firs to move by taking a step forward, but his legs had been too shaky to take another step.

"By I-" he stared but she quickly silenced him by speaking over him.

"You!" She quickly stopped. He needed to be reprimanded because of his slacking off could have cost them dearly but in the middle of a battle wasn't the time for that. Besides she was partially to blame, she should have addressed the issue sooner, though she also didn't expect to send everyone into battle so soon. She sighed before properly looking at him, the look in his eyes at least gave her the hope that he understood his mistake. "Are you hurt?"

"No." His voice was weak, but she didn't comment on it. She did give him a quick look over and it appeared that he wasn't lying at least.

"I'm glad." He just gave her a silent nod. She turned her sights onto Annette, who was staring at her horrified.

"Professor, you are bleeding!" Annette finally cried.

Byleth looked down at herself. Her adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, numbing her to any injuries she might have acquired; and thanks to the blood from the two bandits she couldn't tell which was hers. She did notice that the bottom of her pants and boots were damaged, but that was probably due to her spell. Following Annette's gaze, she discovered a deep gash in her left hand that she was sure was because of a rock dug into her hand upon her landing. Now that she was aware of the injury her hand throbbed and she wished she didn't know about it as she was sure it would affect her grip on her sword.

"Annette, are you alright?"

"Yes." Her voice was shaky but still strong. Byleth was impressed that Annette was taking all the blood and violence well. "But professor-"

"I'm fine." Annette didn't seem too please with that answer, but she didn't say anything else.

The professor then turned her sights onto Felix and didn't bother asking the obvious question. She crouched down and he glared at her. Ignoring the glare, she reached out to heal him only to have him smack her hand away.

"Heal yourself first!" He ordered and she sighed. Why did he have to still be difficult?

"I am not wasting a Vulnerary on a minor injury." She tried to heal him again and again he stopped her.

"You have bandages do you not?"

"My hand is a minor injury compared to the hole in your abdomen." He glared at her for her challenging tone. "The longer you prevent me from healing you the longer my injury goes ignored." It was clear he had a response to that, but it died as soon as a comfort washed over him.

"You will treat your injury when we are done." She said nothing but nodded.

His injury had luckily been a relatively minor one, so it didn't take her long to heal it. Now that Felix's group had been dealt with, she needed to quickly go and check on Dimitri's. She had attempted to stand up, only for him to grab her wrist and pull her back down. He matched her glare with his own. "Your turn!"

She scowled at him as she tried to pull her hand back, but he refused to let go. She didn't have time for this! Every attempt she did to free herself, failed thanks to his frustrating strong grip. She was about to shout at him when Sothis spoke up.

"Relax," Sothis said, and Byleth wished she could. "The little prince led group is fine, no one is dead." Relief washed over the professor before a moment of confusion settled in. "I can sense them though I do not know how." Another strange anomality to add to Sothis' abilities, not that either of them was complaining. "You should take this opportunity to treat your hand. That will also comfort this group some."

Sighing she pulled out some bandages and a small, vial of pure alcohol. He wasted no time in pouring the alcohol into her wound and when she hissed, he gave her a little smirk, she was sure that was his way of paying her back for fighting him. With a surprisingly delicate touch he skillfully went about dressing her wound.

"What?" he weakly growled out after her careful staring.

"I'm just surprised. You are quite skilled at this."

"I used to help Glenn," he mumbled. A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks and he looked away. She smiled as he finished, she could easily imagine a young Felix helping to bandage his reckless, older brother.

With the injuries finally taken care of both Byleth and Felix got onto their feet. She surveyed her little group they looked well enough, though Sylvain still looked a little trouble. Without saying anything she began to lead them back onto the battlefield.

Once they rounded the corner, they discovered that Dimitri's group had descended down their bridge and had attracted the remaining bandits in the area, leaving the leader all alone. From her area she could not tell if everyone in his group was okay. She wanted to quickly run to them and check on them but knew that was extremely dangerous; she still didn't know what the bandits had planned.

"Relax, they are still all alive," Sothis said and Byleth felt a lot of tension leave her. "You should use this opportunity to kill the bandit leader before they could put their plan into action."

With a firm nod, Byleth turned to her little group. "You three will assist Dimitri's group," she ordered.

"And you?" Felix asked with a challenging look to his eyes; and she just couldn't understand why he couldn't be cooperative in battle.

"I will take out the bandit leader."

"Alone?!" Sylvain shouted. "That is too dangerous!"

"I will be fine." The look in his eyes were more than enough to covey his doubts. "This is not the first bandit leader I have taken care by myself." The look in his eyes didn't change but he didn't say anything. "I will be fine, I promise."

One final look was exchanged by the professor and her students before everyone parted. Her students released battle cries as they rushed to join the others. It was crazy tactic that she wanted to stop but it did manage to pull away some bandits and alleviate some of the stress on Dimitri's group, so maybe it was a good move after all.

Satisfied that her students would be okay, Byleth rushed towards the bandit leader. He was yelling and thrashing about and she was beginning to have her doubts that he actually had a plan she needed to worry about. She stepped into the ruins and he finally turned to her with a fierce glare.

"You're the Ashen Demon!" He screamed. "You working for the damned church now?"

"That I am," she said as she stepped forward, but he didn't step back, surprising her a bit not that he ever knew with her constant blank expression.

"Damnit all! The pay was never worth this bullshit!" She arched an eyebrow. His words helped to jog her memory and now she realized she could finally ask him about it.

With a deranged shout he slammed his axe down with a very telegraphed swing that she easily countered with her own upward swing. She could not tell if it was his anger that made him a poor fighter or if he was just never skilled to begin with. His swings were wild as it did nothing more than create some distance between him and her; if nothing else he was an annoying opponent to deal with.

Outside of their little ruin space, his swings had become more wider and sloppier. During a backward swing she stopped it with the side of her sword and arm, to provide support. His eyes widen and he tried to pull back his axe, but she slid her sword along the axe to jab her blade into his fingers. It wasn't nearly enough force to cut them off but, in his surprise, he did drop his weapon.

Never taking her eyes off her opponent, she kicked his axe into the ravine. His fierce glare wavered once a sword was pointed at him. She took a step forward and he took a step back. They continued their little dance, until he had enough.

"Quit toying with me!"

"Answer my question." He glared but said nothing. "Who paid you?"

"Why do ya want to know?"

Sothis had yet to inform her of any serious changes to her students so Byleth decided to press forward with her interrogation. "I want to know who is dumb enough to take a job to kill the three most important children in all of Fodlan." His eyes widen.

"They weren't some brats…?" She could tell that his question wasn't meant for her, but she decided to answer it anyway.

She lowered her sword as she stepped closer so that her words could have an even greater impact. "Those brats were the crown princess of the Empire, crown prince to the Kingdom, and the future Duke Sovereign to the Alliance." With each reveal the bandit's leader's eyes widen and he stumbled back at the end of it. "Even if you had managed to have succeeded there would be no place in Fodlan that you would ever be safe in." His mouth was agape but no sound left him.

"It seems your employer played you like a fool." She stepped forward keeping their distance almost nonexistent. "So, tell me, who hired you?"

With a seemingly sudden boost in his anger he roared out and she took a step back so that she could better strike him, if needed. "So, what if he played me?! I ain't gonna tell no church lacky shit!" The punch, he threw, never reached her as her blade pierced his chest. He gave her one final glare before the light left his eyes.

She stared at the corpse before her. She still didn't get the desired answer to her question but at least she had confirmation that the bandits' employer wanted the future leaders dead. But why? To throw Fodlan into complete chaos? What good would that do? A sigh escaped her as she felt a headache coming. She didn't know the employer but whoever it was, was planning to kill her beloved friends and she wouldn't hesitate to run her blade through him or her.

This was important information that she needed to share with the three future leaders and the archbishop as soon as she could. She wasn't sure how she felt about telling Dimitri as she was sure it would have a negative impact on him. As for the archbishop, Byleth also wasn't that comfortable with sharing with the church leader as well but that was entirely based on selfish and foolish reasons that she would ignore.

"By!" Dimitri's voice ran out to her and she looked up at him as he jogged towards her. Small cuts darted his face and small tears in his clothes and the blood that surrounded the tears told her that he had been injured at some point, but she couldn't tell if he had any untreated injuries at that moment. Mercedes was a better healer than she gave the woman credit for as there were hardly any marks on his skin that told of injuries.

"Are you alright" The question broke her out of her observation.

"I'm fine," she answered but his gaze lingered on her bandaged hand. "It's a minor wound. No need to worry." His frowned remained and she choose to ignore it. "What about the others?"

"They are fine." He stepped to the side so that she may have a better view of the rest of the class that was walking towards her. With the exception of Mercedes, who looked exhausted, everyone seemed to be fine. For the sake of the healer, Byleth was going to make sure her class worked on blocking and dodging so they wouldn't drain the poor healer.

She smiled as they all came closer. Maybe she had been worrying about nothing. Still it was far too early for a major battle for any of them. They got lucky that the few bandits they fought were not ready for them. But she couldn't help but wonder if the bandits' plan had been simply been to overwhelm the knights with their sheer numbers or possibly something else. After dealing with the leader she was having more and more doubts about the bandits actually having any sort of a plan to begin with.

"Is everyone alright?"

Everyone mumbled several different kinds of fines, and physically she couldn't tell if anything was wrong with them, but mentally was very different story. Besides Dimitri and Felix, everyone looked uncomfortable, to put it mildly. She stared at her students unsure of what to say or do as comforting someone was far out of her expertise.

Ashe was the first to give in and rushed toward the ravine to empty his stomach. Ashe helped to break the pressure over everyone as everyone else gave into their own feelings. Annette began to cry, and Mercedes comforted her, while Ingrid and Sylvain comforted each other with light touches. Dimitri, Felix, and Dedue stood off to the side unsure of what to do.

Byleth walked over to Ashe, who was still hunched over. She rubbed his back and he tried to respond but almost immediately heaved when he turned slightly towards her. She quickly summarized that her being covered in blood probably made her not the best one to comfort him.

A roar echoed loudly in the canyon. Her students began to panic with their eyes darting everywhere, desperate to find the source. Another roar of a different beast joined in and Annette screamed.

The scent of blood must have attracted the beasts and she needed to get everyone far away. Was this the bandits possible plan? Have the scent of battle attract monsters? But monsters didn't discriminate, everyone would have been fair game, making it an idiotic plan. But still to have monster show up in a sacred area seemed suspicious.

Byleth quickly shoved those thoughts to the side, they were not important as she need to get her students to safety first. With a loud shout she was able to calm down everyone. Soon she had her students rushing towards the bridges and she hoped that the knights had not only finished their battle but were victorious as well.

They got up to the upper platform with no problem and they could tell that the knights' battle was over. She could feel the relief was over her students until a Giant Bird descended upon them, right over their exit. The students froze but Byleth didn't, she ripped the bow out of Ashe's hands along with two arrows out of his quiver as she rushed towards the front.

Ignoring the bird's cry, she fired two arrows into its left wing and then immediately casted a Thunder spell at it. The arrows didn't ignite like she had hoped but the bird did at least drift away from the bridge. She did not wait to see if the monster would recover before she ordered everyone to cross the bridge.

She stepped aside to allow her students to pass and watched the bird. When Ashe passed, she handed him back his bow as her fingers cracked with magic ready to be released. Dimitri, Felix, and Dedue were the last of the group and stopped when she wasn't following.

"Go now!" she ordered, but she never took her eyes off the monster.

"Are you not coming with us?" Dimitri asked.

"I will once I know that the Giant Bird will not give chase." As if to mock her another Giant Bird flew in, but it at least did not block their path. She released the stored Thunder spell at the bird when it dared to approach them, it cried out and flew a very small distance back. She drew her sword even though she knew it would be pointless against two flying monstrosities. She glanced over her shoulder to see that the three boys had drew their own weapons as well. "I said go!"

"But-"

"No buts! Retreat now! That is an order!"

"You really think we are going to let you fight two monsters on your own!" Felix asked.

"You will follow my orders or else!"

"Like hell!" the swordsman yelled as he rushed forward. He froze when the bird approached him much faster than he was clearly expecting. The bird struck before he could react. The bird's talons never dug into him as Byleth had managed to shove him out of the way in time, but she didn't have the time to properly defend herself and the talons slashed across her chest.

With a wide swing she managed to scare the monster back, but she didn't injury it. A new roar was added to the mix and on the lower platform below she could see that a Giant wolf had appeared but for the time being it seemed interested on the dead bodies in that area. Swearing loudly, she grabbed Felix's arm and shoved him towards Dimitri.

"Leave now!"

"But-" Dimitri tried to protest again.

"You will only get in my way! Leave now!" She didn't bother looking at him as she shouted. The boys were silent as they ran towards the exit. A sigh of relief escaped her as she knew that they would be much safer in the company of the knights. Now all that was left was for her to prove to be too annoying of a prey for the monsters to entertain the thought of eating her for very long.

* * *

Fighting two Giant Birds at the same time was too great of a challenge for Byleth, even if she hadn't fought in a battle right before. When she was nearing her limits some knights finally joined and they were able to chase the birds away. Though they were unable to catch their breath before another Giant Wolf joined and they ran before they could be noticed.

On the outskirts of the canyon the knights had set up camp for the night. All of her students hovered around the entrance, waiting for her. Relief washed over them as soon as they laid eyes on her, but it didn't last long as they saw the state, she was in. Across her chest was a large gash from when she saved Felix and her left arm dangled, limply at her side with its own wound.

Mercedes rushed to the professor's side and immediately began to try and heal the arm before Byleth could say anything. When it was clear that her magic was having no affect, Mercedes began to panic. None of Byleth's words were reaching the poor woman, so Byleth grabbed Mercedes' hands.

"Breath," the professor ordered, and now somewhat calm Mercedes did so. "There is nothing wrong with your magic. I am the problem." The healer's eyes widen.

Gesturing for Dimitri to step forward, Byleth removed her necklace. She smiled when she noticed his eyes widen upon seeing the piece of jewelry. Holding it out for him she patiently waited for him to understand her desire for him to hold it. Once it was in his hands his eyes were alight with all the obvious questions that she was sure were swirling within his mind.

"That necklace has a powerful ward on it," Byleth explained at first to Dimitri before turning towards Mercedes. "It protects me from magical attacks, but it also prevents me from being healed. So, now that I'm no longer wearing it you should have no problems with healing me."

Tentatively, Mercedes went back to trying to heal and a smile appeared on her face when it started working. The combination of the soothing warmth and the dulling of the pain in her arm, had much of the tension leaving Byleth's muscles. She nearly allowed herself to fall into a lull state of mind, until she felt Mercedes' hand rest upon the wound on her chest. The professor gave Mercedes a small, apologetic smile when she suddenly grabbed the healer's hand.

"You don't need to worry about that one." Her student was about to protest but Byleth never allowed it by continuing to speak. "You are tired. It will be dangerous for you to continue to spend all your magic." Mercedes' pressed her lips together and said nothing.

"Then, we'll have our cleric take care of your wounds," one of the knights said.

"There is no need. Your cleric must be tired as well." The knight had no response to that. "I will be fine with a few bandages."

"Then allow me-" Mercedes started but Byleth interrupted.

"Mercedes, you need to rest." The healer didn't look pleased. "I just want you to focus on yourself for now." Byleth looked towards Ingrid, who had been silently watching the whole time. "I'm sure Ingrid will be willing to help."

"Wha? Oh, I do not mind but…," Ingrid started to say and fidgeted a little but Byleth didn't wait for Ingrid to finish before she started walking away towards a tent that was available. Dedue had explained what tent was for her as soon as she passed him.

Inside her tent Byleth relaxed greatly as she sat on the floor, fetching the necessary supplies. When she got everything, she began to remove her tunic. She frowned when she discovered that her breast band had been greatly torn and would be unusable. They were only half a day away from Garreg Mach and she hoped she wouldn't have to deal with any battles before they got there, or she was going to have an uncomfortable time.

Ingrid stood at the entrance fidgeting. It was only by Byleth's constant gesturing that she finally stepped forward. The blonde hovered over the injured woman but said nothing. With a little sigh, Byleth handed Ingrid the small vial of pure alcohol she possessed.

Reluctantly, Ingrid too the bottle but continued to stare at Byleth. "Mercedes would be much better at this than me," Ingrid said.

"That may be true, but I trust you more." Ingrid griped the bottle and looked away. "Daisy, I believe you will do just fine."

"You should still have a healer look at it."

"Then they will see my crest."

"But… Are you not worried about a scar?"

"I already have a lot of scars. One more isn't going to change anything. Besides the skin where a crest is, is unusually tough so I doubt I'll get much of a scar." Ingrid still didn't look at her and was squeezing the bottle so tightly that Byleth feared that it would shatter.

Sighing through her nose, Byleth lightly gripped one of Ingrid's wrists. The professor's touch relaxed Ingrid some. Holding up a rag Byleth gave the younger woman a small smile, who did not return it.

"First thing first, we apply alcohol to a towel so that we can disinfect while we clean." The student silently nodded and soaked the rag. Struggling to keep her hiss quiet, Byleth cleaned her wound and was pleased to discover that it wasn't that bad.

"Next we apply an onement or a Vulnerary, depending on how severe the wound is." Ingrid was silent but nodded as she watched as Byleth smeared on an onement. "And for the final step," the former mercenary paused to hand Ingrid some bandages, "you then apply badges. Make sure that the bandages are tight but not too tight where it makes it difficult to move or hurt the person, okay?"

It took a bit of coercing from the older woman to get her friend to begin. Ingrid was silent as she went about applying the bandages. Every time her hand brushed over one of Byleth's breast, she would overreact, and the professor patiently calmed her down. After a few minutes the role of bandages was used up and Ingrid was finished. The bandages were loose and sloppy.

"Daisy, this is terrible," Byleth laughed.

"I am so sorry! I knew someone else should have helped!"

"Daisy." The stern call of her nickname had the girl silenced. "This is your first try, correct?" She nodded. "Then it is to be expected." She frowned but remained quiet. "Thanks. Now I know that I should add first aid to my lessons." Ingrid didn't smile but Byleth wasn't really expecting one. Building confidence was going to be much harder than Byleth was expecting.

After a quick redressing, Byleth was ready to check on the rest of her students. With the exception of Dimitri and Felix, everyone was in a state of anguish. She didn't know how she was going to fix it, but she at least knew they were going to need some time to process everything before they would be ready to talk.

Dimitri and Felix had been sitting away from everyone and that had been the closest she had seen the two since she started teaching, though Felix did maintain a small distance. She approached them, Felix scoffed at her, while Dimitri didn't acknowledge her. Being ignored annoyed her more than Felix's reaction but she chose to keep her expression blank.

"Dimitri, may I speak to you?" she asked and was still ignored. "I have something important to tell you." He still continued to ignore her. "Please?" He turned away from her and she finally had enough. "Fine. Go ahead and act like a brat." She stopped away and he never once called out to her.

She settled down on the outskirts of the camp and looked at the canyon below. More monsters had joined in the feast, but their attention remained completely on the bodies left behind. For such a sacred place, under the protection of the church, it was sure riddled with monsters. Why? That didn't seem right to her. That place should be a peaceful one.

Her lips flatten into a thin line. She had never even heard of that place before and yet she could remember it being a peaceful place. She could feel Sothis stir in the back of her mind.

"Do you know this place?" Byleth asked as her eyes followed one lone Giant Wolf.

"I cannot say that I do but I also cannot shake this strange familiarity I have of it," Sothis said and Byleth could sense the strange girl's frown. "I feel such a great depth of emotions tied to that familiarity. Like joy and sorrow. Pain and love. And all things in between…" While Byleth felt the same familiarity, she did not feel such a strong attachment as Sothis did.

Byleth could feel Sothis drifting about relentlessly in her mind. "If I was somehow here before, I wonder what took place…" Sothis frustration seeped into Byleth. "Why can I not remember? Why must this be all so frustrating?"

The call for dinner rang out. With one final glance, Byleth got up to leave, only for Sothis to stop her. For the sake of Sothis, Byleth properly stared at the lands below, engraving a peaceful imagine into her mind. But the place, now in ruins, didn't seem to sit well with her. Even though Sothis never said anything about it, Byleth got the feeling that she was the most uncomfortable to see that place in such a state.

"It seems I owe you my gratitude," Sothis said after a few minutes of silence. "The bandits will no longer terrorize this place."

"I do not believe I have done something deserving such gratefulness." After all, she hadn't done it out of her own kindness.

"Still, I am grateful all the same." Well if Sothis was happy about it than Byleth wasn't going to say anything.

Nothing else was said between the two as Byleth turned her back on the canyon. When she turned around, she discovered that Dimitri was waiting for her a bit a way back, and she gave him a smile. He said nothing and turned away from her to head back on his own. Her smile turned into a frown as she watched him go.

"I did not think it was possible for that boy to be mad at you," Sothis said with a little giggle. Byleth just wished she knew what she did to earn his ire. "Young love is so hard."

"Sothis please," Byleth whispered with cheeks ablaze as she walked toward the camp.

* * *

Morning came relatively quickly for Byleth but judging the bags that was under many of her students' eyes, she was sure it was a long night for them. She wished she could help them but understood it would take some time before they were ready to open up. She felt terrible but that was something she had to wait for it to happen.

By the afternoon they had arrived at Garreg Mach and Byleth was quickly summoned by the archbishop for her report. All her students silently when their separate ways, and Dimitri still refused to look at her. With a heavy sigh, she made her way over to the archbishop.

Not having Seteth or anyone there with her when she was speaking with the archbishop was incredibly uncomfortable. The gentle smile that the powerful woman wore only deepen Byleth's discomfort more. The unnecessary praise was annoying, and she wished that the archbishop would just hurry up.

"I apologize for putting your students in such grave danger," the archbishop said and Byleth struggled to bite back a sharp response to that. "But they have performed splendidly." Again, she had to bite back a response. "You, so more than anyone else. I am grateful that you were able to take command and salvage the situation. Because of you we did not lose a single, precious soul." She had to pinch her thigh to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "But I expect nothing less from you."

_Why? You don't even know me._ Byleth let her thoughts go unheard.

"But why did the bandits target the students to begin with?" The professor wasn't aware of when the topic had change but her face never showed it. She was curious as to why it was only now that the archbishop was asking such a question. Byleth had secretly hoped that the church had been looking into the matter, but now she knew better to have such expectations.

"I can provide a bit of insight." The archbishop's eyes light up, with such a pleased look that Byleth almost didn't want to say anymore. "They were paid by someone to kill them." The archbishop had taken on a dark expression and Byleth relaxed a little as she was now no longer the powerful woman's sole focus. "I do not know who, but I do know that the bandits were completely unaware of the fact that they were attacking Fodlan's most important children."

"I see." The dark shadows covered the older woman's face for a moment before her smile returned. "I shall have the church look into it. But until we know more, I ask that you support the students and relieve them of any unnecessary worry."

"Of course." The former mercenary had no problem with agree to such a task.

"Excellent. I have high expectations of you." Byleth said nothing and bit her lip. She quietly listened to the archbishop speak about Zanado and other things that Byleth wasn't really interested in. She could tell that the archbishop really wanted Byleth to know the history of that place, but she couldn't fathom why.

* * *

So, I'm still not sure how future battles will play out, at least not in the academy phase, but it's probably safe to say that they will be getting their own chapters. Sorry, if those chapters will come off a little boring with such narrowed focus.

I hope this chapter didn't bore any of you too much since I didn't really go into too much fighting detail. During the earlier battles of the academy phase, I think I'll have Byleth be more a spectator in the battles but if you find this chapter boring let me know and I'll give her a greater role.

Head cannon notes:

Throughout the story Byleth actually has rarely properly casted a spell before this chapter. She prefers to challenge enough energy into a spell that will allow her to cast it without backfiring, but it lacks a lot of the power and range that the spells normally have. She does this mainly for speed as she never uses the spell to kill but more to temporarily distract her opponent so that she could rush them. It's actually a very dangerous way to cast spells as it is very close to having the spell backfiring, but she had done it so much that she is now an expert on it. That being said any proper mage would be horrified to see her perform.

Sothis is able to sense the presence of the people that Byleth has bonded with. She can't sense them over great distance nor can she sense whither or not they are heavily wounded but she can at least provide a peace of mind to Byleth during battles.

Monsters are attracted to blood so after great battles, monsters are sure to appear. It is rare to get such a large number of them in one area as monsters can be very territorial but Zanado was a dangerous exception.


	22. Chapter 22

Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, there were several things that held me back. I got addicted to Persona 5 Royal so that took much of my time. Thanks to online classes I need to get used to having homework again that's not just a paper due every now and then. And lastly I started this chapter thinking that Sylvain's birthday was on the 15th of the Garland Moon and it was only halfway through writing the chapter that I decided to check and well that just threw this chapter and the next few chapters off.

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Fifth of the Garland Moon:**

It was Sylvain's birthday and what was supposed to be a joyous event was a subdue one instead. Sylvain had been cheerful throughout the day, but it was an act. An act that Byleth never liked seeing but she knew he wasn't trying to hide anything; he was just trying to lighten the mood.

Sylvain's birthday was the first of her friend's birthday she was going to celebrate in years (she never had the chance to visit Claude on his in the two years they became friends) and it was going to be the first time she ever got to celebrate his. When Byleth had realized that she would be staying at Garreg Mach with her friends, she had been so looking forward to that day and yet…the timing for that wretched battle was terrible. Another reason for her to dislike the archbishop.

The class had a small celebration and gifts were given but few really had the heart for it. Sylvain was trying very hard to keep the morale up but by the end of the day he, too, gave into the gloom. The professor really wished she could have helped her students better.

Byleth had plans for how she wanted to celebrate Sylvain's birthday. She wanted to do all kinds of things but because of the battle and the heavy cloud that hung over her students she was unable to do many of her ideas. In the end, she decided to treat the core group of her friends to a meal at a restaurant in town, at least they could still have a small feast.

The mood in the group of friends was much stronger than with the whole class, she assumed it was because her friends had been better prepared for what battle entailed. She felt terrible for feeling that way, but she was grateful for the lighter mood, the constant gloom of her class was starting to get to her too. She hoped that the dinner would help Sylvain, Ingrid, and Dedue find some comfort, while also helping Felix and Dimitri getting over their anger.

Once they were allowed to sit, Sylvain quickly took his seat and Byleth sat across from him. Dimitri sat as far away from Byleth as he could, and she did a marvelous job at hiding her annoyance. Dedue took the spot between Sylvain and Dimitri, which created an amusing situation for Byleth as she watched Felix struggling on where to sit. He could sit next to her, who he was currently angry at or he could sit in front of Dimitri, both she was sure were irritating options for him. The decision was made for him when Ingrid sat next to Byleth forcing to sit in front of Dimitri; and if that bothered him, he only showed it every single second.

The meal was going fantastic. Everyone was in a jolly mood, even the two grumpy members. Free from the stress of the church, Byleth was finally able to relax and enjoy a meal with her friends again, it had been far too long.

"So, By?" Sylvain called and she glanced at him with a mouth full of food to which he snorted. "I was curious as to why you did make me a leather item like you always made for His Highness." She tilted her head. "I really do appreciate the board game you gave me, but I am just wonder is all. Please do not think that I am ungrateful."

It took her a second to swallow. "Do you want a leather item?" she asked with her head still tilted.

His cheeks became a light shade of pink as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I thought having you continue that tradition would be nice. Unless that tradition is only for His Highness." He glanced at Dimitri with a cheeky grin, to which Dimitri tried to ignore but his blush betrayed him.

"I didn't make one because I thought you guys were to old for them." And because she unfortunately didn't have time to make anything, but she would make time from now on. She glanced at everyone at the table. "Do you all want homemade gifts?"

Felix scoffed but the look in his eyes betrayed him. Dimitri was still trying to be distant and wouldn't even look at her, but she noticed the small nod. Dedue said nothing and she suspected that he had no idea what they were talking about. Ingrid was clearly was very honest with her emotions.

"You once told me, when we were younger, that you would make me a seashell necklace. I would like one, if you do not mind," Ingrid said and Byleth nodded.

"I tried making you one before, but I broke it, but I'll try again."

The conversations were lively, and it seemed like the pain they felt from the battle was a thing of the past. Everything would have been perfect if it wasn't for Dimitri remaining so stubborn to his anger, at least he interacted with everyone but her. She could ignore Dimitri's stubbornness and just appreciate the nice diner.

Dinner came to an end far to quickly for Byleth's liking but they couldn't stay out that late on a school night. It was weird that she had to worry about such a thing, but it was nice at the same time. Her life felt like it had a sense of normalcy; not that she hated her old life, but waking up without having to worry about where her next job would be was a comfort, she never knew she was missing.

She went to pay and despite being a bit of a brat throughout the meal Dimitri tried to pay for a meal, but she wouldn't have it. Sylvain had to pull Dimitri away so that she could pay. Before she had been worried about being broke after big expenses (Claude greatly contributed to that little fear) and would have never considered treating so many people to a meal but now she had a secure source of income and she didn't need to worry about it. She didn't really trust the church, but it certainly had its perks working for it.

Once the meal had been paid for, they started walking around the town for a bit, not ready to return to Garreg Mach. As they wondered around, Byleth discovered two female students standing around looking uncomfortable with a man standing incredibly close to them. The situation didn't sit well with her that she all but forgot about her friends and went over to the students. Before she could inquire about anything, she heard the students asking for the man to stop but he clearly refused.

She rushed to the students' sides and she discovered that the man was groping the bottom of one of the girls. Without saying anything she grabbed the man's hand by one of his fingers and violently pulled his hand back. The man screamed out when his finger was broken.

"Let this be a lesson," she said in the most threaten tone she was capable of. "Keep your hands to yourself." With tears at the corner of his eyes, the man pathetically nodded yes. She leaned closer and the man was unable to look away. "If I catch you doing such a vile thing to anyone again, whether they be students or not it will be worse than a finger, okay?" The man vigorously nodded his head until she let go of his hand and then he took off running in the opposite direction of her.

"By, what is wrong?" Sylvain asked as he and the rest of their friends joined her.

"I'm fine." She turned to everyone and gave them a nod. "I was just dealing with a creep." She turned to the two girls that were staring at her in amazement. "Are you two alright?" They nodded. "You two better head over to Garreg Mach. It's close to curfew." They gave her another nod and thanked her before they left.

"Did you break that man's finger?" Sylvain asked as he watched the girls leave. Byleth said nothing and simply smiled at him. "Is that not a little too extreme?"

"In my experience, it is the only way to get through those types." He gave her a look. "I'm a lot nicer than my dad. He broke a guy's arm one time."

"Do you have to deal with men like him a lot?" Ingrid asked with a frown and Byleth patted her head.

"Being a mercenary, I often had to stay in areas where lowlifes would hang out, so I often had to deal with more than my fair share of creeps." Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid wore scowls and she gave them smiles in return. "Through my father's constant insistence, I taught all who dared to try and take advantage of me a painful lesson." The scowls didn't leave her friends, but they were at least less intense, except for Dimitri's that remained fierce as he glared at the ground.

* * *

There were no other interruptions as they made their way back to Garreg Mach. The mood was great for the most part, but no one was able to completely ignore Dimitri's sour mood. They didn't let it get to them too much as they (mostly Byleth, Sylvain, and Ingrid) happily chatted about the times they were separated.

When they got to Garreg Mach she walked everyone to their dorms, wishing them a goodnight. Everyone, even Felix, returned the gesture except for Dimitri, who closed the door in her face before she could finish. She tried to hide her disappointment but failed as her sights lingered on the door.

"Thanks for dinner," Sylvain said, pulling her attention away from the door.

"Happy birthday!" she said in a cheerful tone that shoved her disappointment aside. "I'm sorry I couldn't do something grander for your birthday."

"This has been the best birthday, I had in years! And it is all thanks to you."

"But I didn't really do anything."

"Of course, you did. It is hard to be excited for a birthday when you do not know if one of your friends is okay or not. Besides this is the first birthday I got to celebrate with you, so how could I not love this birthday?" She couldn't help her small smile or the light blush that colored her cheeks.

"And about His Highness do not worry about it. He will eventually come around." He pattered her head and she frowned, the head pat was supposed to be her thing and she wasn't sure if she believed him or not. "Just give him some time. There is no way he can stay mad at you for long." He gave her a wink, but her frown remained. "Goodnight By." She wished him the same before he closed his door.

It was now just her and Dedue alone in the hallway. She knew she needed to escort Dedue back to his room and return to her own, but she remained rooted in place. She stared at Dimitri's door as if it would tell her everything she wanted to know.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at Dedue, who was also looking at the door. "His Highness isn't angry at you," he said, and she frowned. "His issue is more with himself."

"But still…," she mumbled with a slight pout. "Would it help if I apologize?" Even if she didn't know what she was apologizing for.

He shook his head. "If you did that, I am sure it would only upset His Highness more." He moved his hand from her shoulder to her back and slightly nudged her away from Dimitri's room. "Now, it is getting late. We should return to our room before misguided rumors start." She gave him a small nod and led him to their rooms.

**Seventh of the Garland Moon:**

Several days had passed since the bandits' mission and her students had yet to recover, and Byleth was starting to get worried. Sylvain and Ingrid were fine outside of the classroom, it seemed like the little birthday celebration helped them but once class started, they would give into to the others' gloom. None of her students had reached out to talk to her, which she would have been okay with if it seemed like they were reaching out to someone, but she didn't believe they were. She had no idea if it was alright for her to approach them about it or if that would just further upset them.

She tried to be patient and wait for them, she really did, but she also hated seeing them like that. But she had no idea how she could help them. Whenever she was sad it was Dimitri or Claude that helped her, but she didn't think they would be able to help. Dimitri was still stuck in his bad mood and though great as Claude may be, he wasn't close with any of them, and she didn't want to wait for the months of boding to take place before he could help them.

Eventually Byleth had enough and decided to seek outside advice. She avoided the archbishop and Seteth because they were the ones responsible for her students suffering. But she did decide that everyone else involved with the church was okay. Though she was a bit hesitant about asking Professor Manuela or Professor Hanneman as she couldn't see how they would be comfortable with sending their students so early into battle. But from what Claude told her, it was only the Blue Lions that were given such a mission and she was sure if it was all because the archbishop wanted to test her and that only reignited her anger.

She sat in Professor Hannenman's office looking all around it. He had been in the middle of an experiment and had asked her to wait. She never realized that there was a science to crest and how someone could be so enthusiastic about it. If anyone could figure out her mysterious crest, she was sure it was him and despite how much she wanted answers she couldn't let the church find out and so she continued to lie to him about not having a crest.

His experiment came to an end and she could not tell if it went how he was expecting or not; she decided to not comment on it less it dominated their conversation. After a few more minutes he finally sat at his desk. It was only when she was sure that she had his undivided attention that she spoke up.

"How do you cheer up your students after they first killed someone?" she asked and was surprised at how hard it was to ask that.

He closed his eyes for a long moment. "I do not know," he said after a minute of silence. "Usually such a mission is given to the students later into the school year, in order to give them enough time to mentally prepare themselves."

She gripped her knees and struggled to keep her expression neutral. While he never outright expressed it, she could sense his confusion for the archbishop's decision in his underlining tone; or maybe she was just sensing what she wanted to sense in her anger. Regardless it angered her that her students were sent too early into battle, that she was sure was for foolish reasons.

"Of course, those bandits attacking students has made everything different," he added all of a sudden and she was sure it was because his underlining tone could get him into trouble.

She did not say anything and just looked down at her hands, in her lap. The conversation wasn't going as well as she would have hoped, and it was all thanks to her inability to contain her anger. She could only really remember getting angry once in her life before she came to Garreg Mach and now she was getting angry all the time and she had no idea why. Not even when she discovered that nobles had placed the blame on her for the Tragedy of Duscur did she get angry (now was a different story), so what in her changed? Why was she able to express that one emotion so much?

Professor Hannenman began to shuffle around and it pulled her attention back to him. He had placed a small plate in front of her with a few shortbread cookies on it. "I will admit I am not an expert on the matter of comforting someone but eating sweets can help alleviate stress so maybe they can help your students?"

Giving him a gentle smile, she took at cookie and bit into it. She remembered Mercedes and Annette talking about sweet a lot and she was sure that the others wouldn't mind them. The only problems came from Felix, who didn't like sweets, and Dimitri, who she didn't know if he regained his sense of taste yet; but both of their issues were for something entirely different and she would worry about them later.

Giving him thanks, Byleth left his office to speak with Professor Manuela. It took a few minutes before Professor Manuela, finally opened the door. The older woman had a strained smile and was very disheveled, Byleth deemed it was best to not comment on the other woman's appearance or the strange sound she heard coming from the room.

"Hello Professor," Professor Manuela said in such a calm tome that did not match her current appearance. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" It was nearly time to go to class but Byleth remained quiet about that.

"I'm sorry for troubling you but I am looking for advice," Byleth said and Professor Manuela relaxed to that.

"Is that all? Then please come in."

The office was a complete mess and Byleth had no words for it. She couldn't believe a room could be that messy or how anyone could live like that; but then again, she never lived in one place long enough that didn't have maids to know is she was messy or not. She was offered the only open and clean seat and she had to be careful as she made her way over to it.

"So, what can I do for you?" Professor Manuela asked as she nonchalantly dumped a stack of books onto the floor.

"I was wondering how to cheer up my students."

The older woman looked at the beds, reminding Byleth that this office was also the infirmary. Now that she remembered the fact the mess began to bother her more. She pushed that thought out of her mind, for the time being.

"A distraction might help them. Or maybe some kind of reminder of the joys in the world." There was a pause as a frown formed on Professor's Manuela's lips. "Those students shouldn't have gone into battle so soon."

A distraction? What could make a good distraction? Byleth was really out of her element. Unaware of it she sighed loudly.

"You don't like my idea?"

"Oh no!" Byleth was quick to say. "I just don't know what a good distraction could be…" With a small frown her gaze drifted towards the floor.

"Hm, how about just helping them relax for now?" Byleth looked at the other woman. "Foods and teas are a great way of getting people to relax sometimes."

"Professor Hannenman mentioned sweets were good for stress."

"Did he now?" Professor Manuela began to mumble the rest, "that's surprising."

The two professors talked for a bit more until it was nearly time for class and Byleth was swiftly kicked out so that Professor Manuela could get ready. When she passed by her father's office, on the way to her classroom, she briefly stopped to stare at the closed door. He was gone on a mission and she hated that. Ever since the Knights of Serios found them, she had so little time to spend with her father, despite really needing to speak with him. With a final glare she stepped away.

* * *

Class ended with nothing really interesting happening, but it did strengthen her resolve to help her students more. She decided that tomorrow she would head into town to buy sweets and teas and hope they help as she still had no idea of what would make for a good distraction. She had thought about asking Claude for ideas, but he had been busy, so it was a plan she was going to put on hold.

She found a few minutes to herself to think so she sat in the gardens enjoying the scent of the flowers, growing there. Her little quiet was disturbed when someone called out to her, though she didn't really mind. Ferdinand walked over to her carrying a box.

"Forgive me for disturbing you," he said once he was closer and she shook her head. "If you are not busy, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Her smile didn't waiver, but she did dread what his request might be. Ever since he learned that she developed her crest countering technique by practicing against the Crest of Serios he had nearly bothered her about it almost as much as Felix did, until he understood his limitations. Preparing for the worse, she gestured for him to speak.

"You see I ordered a tea set or at least I thought I just ordered one, but it seems I was mistaken and ordered two." She tilted her head. "I just cannot return the other one so I was hoping you could help me find someone, who would appreciate this tea set." She stared at him and if he noticed she was staring he didn't say anything. "I already asked Lorenz, but he has no need for a new set."

"May I see it?" she asked, and he handed the box to her. Inside was a beautiful white tea pot with pink flowers and their vines painted on it. Her eyes widen when she held the pot and felt the smooth but cool to the touch material. "Is it really made from such high-quality porcelain?" She had only even felt such a fine product when she was staying at Castle Blaiddyd and Riegan Manor. "You will be able to brew such fine teas with this."

"I am surprised Professor." She glanced up at him. "I did not expect you to know of such a thing." She looked back at the teapot; she only knew such a fact because Dimitri had randomly told her one time. She smiled fondly as she remembered the time when he had started to randomly tell her all kinds of tea facts.

"Professor," Ferdinand paused until she was looking at him, "do you like this tea set perchance?" She nodded. "Excellent than I shall gift the set to you."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly-"

"My goal was to find someone would appreciate the set and I believe you will."

She looked back at the tea set for a moment before looking at him with a wide smile. "Thank you!" The tea set gave her the perfect idea. She would throw her class a tea party and hoped that would be the distraction they would need.

**Eighth of the Garland Moon:**

It was a free day so Byleth decided to go into town to buy some leather, sweets, and teas. It was such a nice day that she hoped that her students would be able to enjoy it. At that thought of being able to help her students, there was a little pep to her steps as she made her way into town.

That day was going to be the first day that she would be able to walk around town by herself and so she took her time shopping. She may still have her doubts about Garreg Mach, but she could not deny that she felt safe there as she did not feel the need to constantly look over shoulder less her mysterious attackers ambush her. Well mostly safe as the archbishop and Tomas were people, she still needed to be weary of.

After stopping by a confectionary shop, she placed an order for several different types of treats to be delivered to the Blue Lions' classroom tomorrow morning, as well as for a few treats she was going to allow herself to gorge on when she got back. Afterwards she made her way over to a tea shop and her eyes light up at all the teas she could buy. Since she was staying in one place, she could buy all the teas she wanted, though her wallet would object.

"May I help you?" the shopkeeper asked.

A bit reluctantly, Byleth tore her eyes away from all the teas to look at the keeper. "Yes, I would like some chamomile tea please. Enough to serve an entire classroom." The man stared at her for a moment before nodding and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing." She pulled out a carefully wrapped teacup from her bag. "I need five more teacups of this kind please." The man took the cup and his eyes widen.

Excusing himself the man gave the cup back and hurriedly left to fetch the desired goods. Carefully she put the cup back into her bag. It was a few minutes before the shopkeeper returned with two cups, their designs were not exactly the same, but they were close enough that Byleth didn't care.

"I only have two cups matching that quality and for these two cups that will be 4,000 gold each."

The smile instantly left her face and she stared at him as if he had grown two heads. He repeated the price and it still didn't completely register to her. A frown grew on his face.

"Why is it so expensive?" she finally asked after several seconds of silence.

"Because it's such fine quality porcelain. It's such a high quality that it is rare to find it in shops like mine. I just happened to be lucky at the moment and have these two cups."

She continued to stare at him. She was starting to wonder if it was okay for her to have accepted such a gift. How much did the whole tea set cost? She didn't really want to think about that. Did Ferdinand even realize he gave her such an expensive gift? Should she return it? Or would that be considered rude? Now it made sense to her why she only experienced such a material at Castle Blaiddyd and Riegan Manor.

"I'm sorry. I cannot afford that." The man gave her a look that let her know that he was already aware of that. "May I have some much cheaper cups that will match mine?"

"Of course. May I ask how you came to possess that teacup though?"

"It was given to me."

"Well then, it seems like you are quite fancied to receive such a gift." She doubted that. Or at least she really hoped that wasn't the case.

"You are such a popular professor," Sothis teased in a tone that caused Byleth to blush.

* * *

The day was nearing its end when Byleth finally returned to Garreg Mach. She had every intention of heading straight to her room but as she passed by the greenhouse, she decided to pay it a visit. She remembered that scents also had a way of calming as Dimitri often commented how the sent of jasmine relaxed him (she always kept her soap jasmine scented because of that), she wished to see if there were any flowers that she could use for tomorrow.

She walked through the greenhouse enjoying all the different scents of flowers that graced her. She had stopped to look a set of white flowers and remembered a fun little tradition girls would do with them during the Garland Moon. From the corner of her eye she spotted a young woman with sky blue hair. The young woman was huddled in a corner and could have easily gone unnoticed if it wasn't for Byleth's keen senses. The professor walked over to the woman and noticed that she was wearing the school's uniform and she couldn't recall if she had seen the woman around; but then again Byleth didn't really have any time to check out other students.

"Excuse me," Byleth said once she was close enough. "Are you alright?" The student screamed a little as she fell onto her bottom. "I'm sorry I did not mean to frighten you."

"Ah, no it is my fault," the student said so quietly that Byleth nearly missed it. "I did not mean to be in your way, please forgive me." The blue haired woman began to walk away. "If you will excuse me."

"Wait!" Byleth ran up to her. "You were not in my way. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh…I am fine." The student didn't lift her head up enough for Byleth to see her eyes and that bothered the older woman a little. "There is no need to worry about me." She began to walk away again. "Now if you will excuse me."

"Wait!" Again, Byleth gave chase. "Why are you so eager to leave?"

"I…ah…," the woman's voice trailed off and her gaze drifted lower. Byleth didn't want to let the go, when she was upset, but Byleth understood that she wasn't helping either.

"If you don't mind. Can you please tell me your name?"

The woman finally looked at Byleth and her eyes were so sad. The professor didn't want to let her go but she didn't want to push either. "My name?" Byleth nodded. "It is Marianne." Byleth smiled but Marianne didn't. "May I please go now?"

"Oh, just one more thing." The professor pulled out a carefully wrapped cinnamon, spiraled, sweet bread and handed it to Marianne. "I want you to have this."

"Oh, I couldn't-"

"Please. I just want to make it up to you for troubling you."

"You didn't…," Marianne mumbled quietly but eventually to the bread with a very small smile. "Thank you." She bowed before she left with no more interruption.

It was only after that Marianne was gone that Byleth realized that she never got her last name nor what class she belonged too. She decided that she would ask Dimitri about the sad girl but then she remembered how he had avoided her at breakfast and decided that she would ask Claude instead. Claude would be much more helpful, she concluded.

**Nineth of the Garland Moon:**

Byleth started class late so that she would get everything ready. She looked at her little tea party set up with pride; two tables were pushed together, and two white sheets were draped over them and a vase filled with flowers sat in the middle of them. It was far from fancy, but she was sure her students would enjoy it, or at the very least she hoped they would.

The scent of the tea mixed lovely with the scent of the few flowers she picked. She found the scent relaxing and was sure her students would too. When she was sure everything was perfect, she called to let them in.

She stood behind the tables with her arms open wide. She was silent until Sothis told her to shout "surprise", so she did. The students walked in gawking at the set up in silence.

"Professor, what is all this?" Ashe asked once he was at the tables.

"I know you all have been struggling with coming to terms with the battle, so I wanted to help you all relax a little," Byleth explained.

"What about class?" Annette asked as she was eyeing some cookies.

"Don't worry about class." They all looked at her, while Felix glared. "It is important to take care of oneself both physically and mentally. And today we shall focus on the mental part."

They all stared at her skeptically for a bit and she struggled to keep her smile from wavering. Mercedes was the first to step forward and she complimented the bread, she had taken a bite from, after that everyone finally joined it. Byleth nearly released a sight of relief when everyone started to relax.

"Chamomile tea?" Dimitri asked, once he brought the cup up to his face.

"It's your favorite right?" That wasn't the reason why she bought it but when she remembered it was his favorite, she thought of it as a nice bonus. He looked at her with wide eyes and a slight coloring to his cheeks. The pleasant image didn't last long as his little scowl returned, and he looked away.

"What a brat?" Sothis said and Byleth nodded in agreement. "I did not think it was possible for anyone to be a bigger brat than sword boy." Byleth snorted before she caught herself and luckily for her, no one seemed to have noticed.

"By- I mean Professor," Sylvain started and waited for her attention, "this tea set is exquisite."

"Isn't it? It's way too expensive. Nothing I could ever afford." She heard a teacup jostle and when she looked around, she discovered that Ashe became really stiff with the cup he held. "Relax Ashe, it was a gift and I won't be upset if you accidently break one." That did not help him at all.

"A gift? From whom?"

"Ferdinand von Aegir." A sigh escaped her because of how easily that man's name slipped from her lips. She wondered if she would ever be able to forget his name.

The smile left Sylvain's lips as she placed his cup back onto the table. He walked over to her and leaned towards her. The frown was still ever present, and she wondered if he didn't like Ferdinand. Sure, Ferdinand was a bit eccentric, but he was still a good kid, or at least that was what she believed. From over his shoulder she could tell that Dimitri was glaring at his cup.

"By, you are not allowed to accept expensive gifts from men."

"I didn't know it was expensive when I accepted it. If I had known I would have never accepted it."

"Why did you not return it then?"

"I couldn't do that after I accepted it. And besides," her voice began to trail off a little as her cheeks warmed, "I was too excited about having a tea party with everyone."

Sylvain sighed as he stood up straight. His smile returned as he shook his head. Patting her on the shoulder, he walked over to Dimitri.

"From now on you cannot accept expensive gifts from men, unless they come from," he paused to wrap an arm around Dimitri's shoulders, "His Highness, okay?" The prince was bright red as he glared at Sylvain, who returned it with a cheeky grin. Byleth tilted her head as she watched the two boys.

Sothis' sigh grabbed the professor's attention. "We really need to work on that innocence of yours," Sothis mumbled and Byleth frowned.

Despite the bit of confusion, she felt, the tea party was a success as her students began to relax. It would take some time before they would fully accept their actions, but they at least wouldn't let that hold them back anymore. Byleth was immensely proud of them.

She ended class early and everyone left in a much better mood. She was cleaning up when she noticed that Felix had remained. She smiled at him, but he didn't look at her and stared at the wall.

"Can I help you with something?" He remained silent and continued to stare at the wall. With a little huff she folded her arms over her chest, and she watched him.

After a few seconds of nothing, he finally voiced his frustrations with a loud groan. He looked at her with a glare and then dropped it as his gaze drifted towards her chest. Suddenly his cheeks turned red and he quickly looked away.

"Are you alright?" Still no response from him and she rolled her eyes.

He mumbled something she didn't hear and when she inquired for him to repeat himself, he glared at her but eventually relaxed his stance. "Does the wound on your chest still hurt?" She shook her head and he nodded absently.

"You…You need to take better care of yourself!" he shouted and then stormed out of the room and she watched him go with a small frown.

"He is an awkward boy," Sothis said, "but I guess he is not a bad kid."

**Eleventh of the Garland Moon:**

Dimitri didn't like being angry, especially when he knew it was for a childish reason and yet he couldn't help himself. Whenever he thought he was ready to let it go, it would flair up whenever he saw Byleth being competent (so basically every time he saw her). He knew it was beyond childish to feel that way, especially when he knew he should have expected for things to turn out this way, but it didn't change anything.

His anger was making his petty too. Not only was he unable to look at her but he was also neglecting his duties as class leader. His fellow classmates were clearly suffering and Byleth was struggling but no matter how much he tried he just couldn't get over his frustrations to help.

That day had been no exception of him neglecting his duties as he quickly fled the classroom as soon as class was over. Even without any help from him, Byleth was able to help the class. Seeing everyone slowly returning to themselves should have been a happy sight but it only frustrated him more. Everyone was getting better but him, even Felix had seemed to have gotten over his anger.

He, along with Dedue, cut through the gardens on their way to the training grounds. It was a longer route, but Dimitri was hoping that the pleasant scents of the flowers would relax him a little, they didn't. He was about to exit the gardens when he bumped into Jeralt.

"Ah, just the boy I wanted to see," Jeralt said and Dimitri immediately stood at attention. Jeralt look around and then pointed to the nearby, empty tables. "Have a seat we need to have a chat."

On a normal occasion (maybe) Dimitri might have found the image of Jeralt sitting on at cute little, white garden table with rose at his back hilarious but at that moment Dimitri's mind was running through so many different scenarios. He sat completely straight his princely smile straining, as the older man stared him down. Only when Jeralt sat back did Dimitri release his held breath.

"So, you and Byleth got into a fight?" Dimitri immediately went back to holding his breath.

"No sir," the prince quickly stammered out, "we did not get into a fight."

Jeralt rubbed his beard as he looked at Dimitri. The prince's fingers dug into his legs under the silent stare. Eventually a smirk worked its way onto Jeralt's face.

"That's not what I heard. My kid says you are mad at her and she has no idea why."

The smile finally left the prince's face and stared at the table between them. "I am not mad at her." A small scowl worked its way onto his face. "I am mad at myself."

"Is that so? So then what's bothering you?"

Dimitri pressed his lips together. Sharing an insecurity with anyone wasn't something he was wanting to do. He also had been avoiding putting his insecurity into words because he didn't want to acknowledge it even though he knew it would help him. When Jeralt said nothing, Dimitri resigned himself with a sigh.

"I…" He frowned as he really didn't want to put it into words. "I want to protect By, but it is clear that she does not need me and I…" He let the thought die as he didn't want to say anymore.

He heard Jeralt hum, but he didn't look up. Now putting his insecurity into words only frustrated him more. He felt more of a child and he absolutely hated it.

Of course, he wouldn't be able to protect Byleth. He couldn't do anything. Squeezing his eyes shut, he desperately tried to ignore the snickering voices in the back of his head.

He flinched when he feels a delicate hand on his shoulder and the ghostly figure on his back. The voice echoed loudly in his ear as if the ghost was whispering directly into it. "Of course, you are useless," his stepmother sneered.

His fingers dug into his knees, leaving bruises, when he heard Glenn's voice. "Why would Byleth need a pathetic, little worm like you?" he asked with a vicious laugh. "She probably resents teaching you. You are completely useless."

He shuts his eyes even tighter and locked his jaw as he prepared for the third voice, the one that was always the most painful to hear. On his other shoulder was a new grip and he heard the voice whisper into that ear. "My pathetic, little son, how long will-" Dimitri was unable to hear the rest as a new voice broke though the haze.

Dimitri's head shot up to look at Jeralt, who was frowning. With a shake of his head, the older man sighed. Jeralt learned back in his chair and gave Dimitri a disappointing look.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Jeralt asked and Dimitri was unable to look at him. Another sigh, and Dimitri's gaze drifted towards the ground. "I said, it's only natural that you would be unable to protect Byleth in a physical sense."

Dimitri knew that but being told that from a living person hurt immensely. "I've trained my daughter from a very young age to be able to defend herself. To the point where she thought I valued strength above all else." Jeralt's gaze briefly dropped to the table before returning to Dimitri, but the boy was unaware of it. "She also unfortunately had to spend the last six years having to learn how to defend herself from attackers that could appear out of nowhere." Dimitri felt his blood boil at that, but he didn't let his anger get the better of him.

"What I'm trying to say is Byleth doesn't need anyone to protect her in battle." Dimitri pressed his lips together and still refused to look at Jeralt. Everything the father was saying made sense and yet… What good was he to Byleth? Why would she need to look at him?

"You know, there are other ways to protect her besides in battle." Dimitri finally looked at Jeralt, who now had a little smile. "You will protect her when you grant her asylum." The prince's gaze drifted away again. That wouldn't be him, that would be his title protecting her.

"Hey prince, what do you think of Byleth?" Dimitri went back to looking at Jeralt with an unanswered question in his eyes.

"She is incredibly strong," Dimitri started off slowly and a fond smile slowly settled over his features. "She is so very kind and sweet. Immensely brave and does not hesitate to save or help anyone." He easily spoke of all the amazing traits about the woman he adored so much. "She is also beautiful." He felt the air shift and he noticed that the smile on Jeralt's face was now strained. "Beautiful soul! She has a beautiful soul because she is so kind!"

The father's eyes narrowed as he rested his hands on the table. Dimitri was rigid in his seat and he struggled to remain calm under the intense gaze. "Nice save," Jeralt finally said as he sat back, and Dimitri was able to relax a little.

"Confident?" Jeralt randomly asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Would you say she's confident?"

Dimitri furrowed his brows as his gaze drifted towards the table. He wasn't sure if he would say Byleth was confident. When she held a sword, sure she was confident; he had no doubt that she wouldn't be able to command an army when she held a sword but when she didn't have one…Sure people easily flocked to her but he would chalk that up to her charm more.

"How about selfless?" To a fault. He really wished she would think about herself more. "Naive?" Yes, frustratingly so. He couldn't help but worry that such sweet words from some undesirable person would be able to sway her. At least he was able to take comfort in knowing that she could at least deal with creeps. He was curious as to how much stress Jeralt had to deal with her learning to deal with them because he was sure she just allowed them to get away with that in the beginign and that thought angered him immensely. "Reckless?" Most definitely.

He looked at Jeralt, unsure of what he was supposed to make of all that. "My daughter is not used to staying in an area with so many people and I'm sure she is overwhelmed and could use some help in dealing with it." Dimitri arched an eyebrow. She did live in the castle for some time that had way more people, sure most of the people ignored her, but still she should be used to it right? And what did that have to do with anything?

"That is one way to protect my daughter." Dimitri's mouth formed an "O" shape for a moment before he closed it to nod. "The church is determined to send me on missions that will keep me away, I'm sure she will be glad to have someone she could confide in and share her worries with." He could easily agree to that. And the irony of him taking care of someone else's mental state was not completely lost on him.

"There are other ways you can help protect Byleth too that don't rely on a battlefield." Dimitri wasn't sure how, but he was determined to find them. "And if you really want to get stronger faster, I'm sure Byleth would be more than happy to offer you extra lessons." Dimitri missed the bitterness in Jeralt's tone.

The father got up and that broke Dimitri out of his thoughts. Jeralt walked over to the younger man and clasped his shoulder. Dimitri gave him a little smile until the grip on his shoulder tighten lightly and the smile wavered. Jeralt leaned down with his own little but slightly malicious smile.

"You can also help Byleth by keeping all the pesky boys away from my little girl, okay?" Unable to find his voice Dimitri could only nod and Jeralt laughed. He patted the prince's shoulder before walking away. "You're a good kid."

Once Jeralt was out of sight Dimitri released a shaky breath. He slumped into his chair as he wasn't ready to get up. He nearly jumped out of his seat when Dedued approached him and his cheeks warmed a little from the embarrassment of forgetting his friend.

"So that's your future father-in-law," Dedue spoke.

"Yes," Dimitri answered absentmindedly as he stood up. "Wait! What did you say?!"

"That Jeralt is your future father-in-law."

Dimitri's face was bright red as he turned away from his friend. "Not you too!" He groaned as he covered his face.

The future prince could have sworn his face was going to melt off. "Yes, I mean, I do not know. We have only just reunited, and everyone is getting way ahead of themselves." He didn't even know if Byleth still remembered his confession and he was too much of a coward to check. He groaned as he rested against the tall hedge.

"Well, I will support you on whoever you choose to marry but I do hope that you chose Byleth." Dimitri looked at his friend.

"You like Byleth?"

"She is so very kind." There was a slight blush to accompany Dedue's smile. Dimitri might have been very insecure when it came to Byleth and potential love rivals, but he was at least able to tell that Dedue's soft features were not because of a hidden love. "She doesn't judge anyone based on their race or ethnicity." Dimitri knew it was a foolish question he asked as he knew from the very beginning that Dedue liked Byleth. She had helped him just as much as she helped Dimitri during that trying time. To have his best friend's support warmed his heart.

They stepped out of the gardens and discovered that Jeralt hadn't gotten very far before he was stopped by a student, Leonie, Dimitri believed was the student's name. Dimitri watched them for a bit. As much as he might try to play ignorant the idea of him possibly marring Byleth had crossed his mind once or twice thanks to Sylvain's comment, but he never realized that if they did get married that Jeralt would become his father. He did very much like the thought of having a father again.

**Twelfth of the Garland Moon:**

Class had been going smoothly now that everyone was in much better moods. Even though yesterday it bothered Dimitri that Byleth was able to achieve such a feat without him, he was now enormously proud of her. He could tell that she was proud of herself as well by the way she carried herself and that pleased him more.

Sylvain stood in front of the class answering the question that he had been called up for. When he answered the question correctly, Byleth had to jump a little in order to pat his head. It took Sylvain a moment before he burst out laughing.

"What was that?" he asked in between laughs.

With cheeks slightly pink she looked away. "It's not my fault that you are so tall," she mumbled with a little pout, and Sylvain's laughing didn't cease.

"What were you planning to do for Dedue?" She slightly pulled out the chair, at her desk, and Sylvain lost it even more.

"It's not that funny!" Her cheeks were now fully flushed as she gave him a weak glare. "I thought a head pat might motivate you guys."

Sylvain kept up his laughing fit and Dimitri could tell that she was tempted to hit him, and Dimitri would back her up if she did. Eventually Sylvain stopped laughing and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so that he could whisper into her ear. Dimitri tried and failed miserably to not be jealous, so he just glared at the Gautier heir in a silent protest.

Whatever Sylvain said caused Byleth to look directly at Dimitri and he wasn't sure if he liked that or not. Their conversation ended with a small nod from Byleth and a large grin from Sylvain. When Dimitri tried to inquire about what they talked about the ginger haired man just gave him a smirk and the prince spent the remainder of the class pouting.

Class ended fairly slowly for Dimitri but now that it was over it was finally time to ask for private lessons. He hovered around his spot trying to work up the nerve. He couldn't figure out if he should start off with an apology or try to start off with a light conversation. Normally, he had no problem with talking to her but usually he didn't let his frustrations get the better of him when it came to interacting with her.

"Is something the matter?" Byleth asked and he jumped slightly. She was at her desk and was watching him. When he started walking towards her eyes widen.

"I have a request," he said quietly. She smiled widely at him and he realized that was the first thing he had said to her in weeks outside of class related calls. He wanted to crawl into a hole for how much a brat he had been acting like.

"I will gladly help you in any way I can!" Her brilliant smile only made him feel worse.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to provide me with some extra training?"

"Certainly!" she said it so swiftly that he couldn't help but smile. "I can begin whenever you want!"

He was slightly taken aback. "T-then would you be willing to help me today?"

"Of course!" Again, another fast response. "I just need to put these papers away first, so I'll meet you at the training ground, okay?" He nodded.

After quickly changing into his sportswear, he stood at the training ground's entrance with a training lance in hands. He was trying to maintain his princely calm, but it was hard to keep the little excited smile off of his face. He twirled his lance around as he gave up on trying to contain himself.

When he heard her call for him, the smile was there to stay as he happily turned to face her. His face broke out into a massive blush, when he discovered that she was wearing the Blue Lions' sportswear and he focused was on all the exposed skin that he normally didn't get to see. He hated how childish he was for getting excited at just seeing her bare arms and legs; but then again, her breasts were much more noticeable in that outfit. Roughly he shook his head to try and chase away such thoughts.

A light touch from her and having her look up at him returned all those vile thoughts and he had to suppress a groan. He gave her a small smile to ease her worries and he became aware of all her visible scars. He was vaguely aware of them the last time he saw them, but he decided to focus on them this time.

Unconsciously he reached out and lightly touched a particularly nasty scar on her left arm, it was strange but painful looking streaks along her arm. He pressed his lips together as he recalled that that was the same arm that she injured during the monster ambush, but it didn't look like it was something a monster was capable of doing. She lightly touched his hand and he looked into her eyes.

"I got that scar because I casted a spell far above my skill level." His sights returned to the scar and he could now tell that it was a strange burn. "It no longer hurts but it is a reminder of a valuable lesson about magic that I learned that day."

"What happened?"

"Sorry, but that is a secret." He frowned. "I'm fine so there's no need to dwell on it."

His frowned remained but he nodded. His eyes scanned the rest of her exposed skin and she had so many small scars. "So many scars," he mumbled to himself.

"It comes with the job of being a mercenary." He looked at her as he wasn't expecting a response. "Do they bother you?"

"No." No amount of scar would ever be able to tarnish her beauty to him, especially when he knew she had at least one scar from protecting him. He very much liked the small smile she was giving him and he reached out to cup her cheek only to remember that they were not alone when he heard a particularly loud grunt from Felix, who was also in the training ground.

Clearing his throat, he gestured over to the training grounds. "Shall we begin?" She gave him a small nod.

Byleth took his training seriously, which he found to be both a blessing and a curse. She was not shy of getting close enough to the point where her body was pressed against his, in order to correct his stance. In those moments her warm breath would skirt across his bare skin causing a jolt to run through his body. She was making it incredibly difficult for him to focus. It was torturous but he found himself like it so much.

Dimitri was able to eventually discover, in the few times he could focus, that she was determined to break everyone out of their strict formal styles for more adaptable styles. He was finding it hard to breakout of a style that had been engraved into him for so many years. At the very least she was incredibly patient with him and he was so grateful for that for a number of reasons.

Dinner was close to starting so they finally called it quits for the day so they he could bathe before eating. It was just them as everyone had left to prepare for dinner and Felix had gotten fed up with him at some point and called it quits. He listed quietly as she listed off some points, he needed to improve upon.

With each point he nodded as he relaxed a little. He leaned his lance against him and his gripped remained lax. Her voice was so soothing that he found himself dozing off a little.

"Oh! One more thing," she said, and he perked up a little at her sudden tone change.

He barely had a chance to properly look at her before she leaned into him. He felt the light press of her lips against his cheek, but it did not register for the longest moment. Suddenly all the pieces were put together, and he broke out into a massive blush and his lance snapped into two easily at his sudden intense grip.

"Hey! Be careful! I have to pay-"

"W-why did you do that?!" His face was so hot that he was having a hard time looking at her. Her innocent head tilt she gave him, felt like a slap to the face to him. "You cannot just be doing that!"

"But Poppy-" Of course, it was Sylvain, he groaned. "He said it would be the best way to motivate you."

Dimitri groaned again as he squatted. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Why did Sylvain have to go tell Byleth that? He should have known that she would have not really thought anything of it and that just bothered him more.

"Aster, are you okay?" She kneeled down in front of him and he shook his head as he was not ready to face her. "Did I do something wrong?" He shook his head again and remained silent. He still didn't want to explain anything to her.

"I'm sorry if I upset you." Reluctantly he finally looked up at her. He felt his face warm even more when he looked into her eyes.

"I am not upset." She frowned but still kept up her concern look. He sighed. "You just cannot do that." She titled her head and he fought back a sigh. There was that naiveté that he needed to protect her from, but did he really need to protect her from Sylvain and even from himself?

"You…that…You just cannot do that to out of the blue and to anyone." The last part was something his jealously added and he wondered if he would be able to protect her from himself.

"I know. It is something that I would only do for you." His face grew even hotter.

"Only for me?" She nodded and he groaned into his hands that now covered his face. He failed. He would not be able to protect her from himself. He was far too greedy.

"You cannot do that when people are around." He was now mumbling into his hands.

"I know that." Did she really? Did she even know what that little action did to him? Did she know that he now wanted so much more? That some little kiss on the check was nothing to the depth of the desires he held?

Slowly he raised his face to look at her. He reached out and lightly cupped her check. Was she aware of what this gesture meant? How intimate it was? She often done it to him, and he was using that as an excuse to do the same to her.

Jeralt didn't need to worry about other men approaching his daughter without his permission. Dimitri was the greatest offender that the father needed to worry about. Dimitri was the one she needed the most protection from.

He dropped to his knees as he leaned closer to her. How many times had he found himself in such desirable positions with her since they were reunited? Was she even aware of how close they were? How he only needed to work up the nerve to just get a little closer and how he would be able to claim her lips?

He grabbed a few strands of her hair and brought it up to his lips. He looked into her eyes as he planted a small kiss on her hair, and he was delighted to see her cheeks warm at his gesture. As much as he wanted to kiss her lips, he knew he needed to control himself. He wasn't deserving of such a joy yet, but soon he would be. But until that day he would have to be strong, even if it frustrated him greatly.

"You should not do such a thing. Even if we are alone, okay?" he said as he let her hair fall from his fingers. She gave him that little head tilt of her. "Or I will become greedy and seek out more." Her eyes widen and she gave him a small nod. He had no idea if she truly understood what he meant but he hoped that she was at least becoming more conscious of him.

* * *

So, I am about two-thirds done with Persona so I can't guarantee if I'll have the next chapter up any time soon. Sorry, it's been so long since I have gotten into a videogame and I just love Persona. Also getting Sylvain's birthday mixed up really messed up my plans so I gotta figure all that stuff out as well.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!


	23. Chapter 23

Quick before a paper can take me away, I need to upload this!

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Fourteenth of the Garland Moon:**

Byleth was sitting in her classroom finishing up some paperwork before lunch break ended. Her students were doing much better and she was so happy to see that. Turning them down to eat lunch with them was hard but she needed to finish that paperwork before tomorrow's meeting or who knew what kind of lecture Seteth would give her.

There was a knock on her classroom's door and when she looked up, she saw a dark-skinned teen heading over to her. "Sorry to bother you Professor," the boy said when he arrived at her desk. She didn't answer him for a moment and stared at him.

It was only when he started to squirm a little under her gaze that she realized what she was doing. "You're Almyran," she voiced her thought without realizing it and he was instantly on guard.

"Yeah," he said bitterly and glared a little. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Oh no!" She quickly understood that her little remark was no welcomed. "I'm sorry. I really have no problem with you being Almyran. It's just you surprised me is all." While he did relax a little, it was still obvious that he was not comfortable with her. "You don't really see any Almyrians this deep into Fodlan, is what I was trying to get at."

"Yeah, Lady Rhea saved me from my old life." His whole demeanor changed when he mentioned the archbishop. "It's because of her that I can live a good life now." Byleth still didn't like the archbishop but if the holy woman really did save the boy than maybe she wasn't so terrible.

"I'm glad to hear that." He finally relaxed around her again. "What can I do for you…um…"

"Cyril."

"Cyril. Do you need me for something?"

"Oh yeah." He rummaged in his bag to pull out two envelopes. "These letters just arrived for you. I'm told that they are from some important people and was asked to deliver them to you as soon as possible."

He handed her the letters and across the envelops was her name elegantly written. She felt like she should recognize the hand writings but most of her students had such beautiful penmanship that she wouldn't be able to tell their writings apart, let alone handwriting from some distant person. Still, now that she was seeing Claude every day, she couldn't think of anyone, who would write to her, let alone knew that she was staying at Garreg Mach.

"Professor?" She looked up at Cyril, who was watching her carefully. "Does it really not bother you that I am Almyran?"

She set her letters aside so that she could rest her head on her hands. "I'll let you in on a little secret." She smiled when she saw him lean a little closer to her. "Two of my favorite people are Almyran." His eyes widen a bit and he smiled.

"You know, Lady Rhea said you were a kind lady." Her smile became a bit strained. "And I believe her now." That was nice to hear at least. "I should get going now. I'll see ya later." He waved goodbye as he ran out of the room.

She sat back in her chair and looked up at the roof. She honestly didn't know what to make of the archbishop. She was angry at the woman for sending her students to early into battle and her unvoiced expectations was still nerve racking but if the archbishop was really willing to take in an Almyrian with no issue than maybe there was more to the archbishop that Byleth needed to acknowledge. Though she wasn't completely ready to give the woman a pass for the bandit issue.

Dropping her gaze to the classroom's entrance, she wondered if Claude was aware of Cyril. Her mind danced with the idea if she should ask him or not. He made it perfectly clear that he wanted to keep his identity a secret but would he like seeing another Almyran? Byleth imagined she would like to see another Fodlan person if she were alone in foreign land.

She didn't dwell on that though for long as she turned her sights onto the two envelops. When she saw the wax seals on the back of them, her eyes widen, and she instantly understood why they were rushed to her. One letter was from Duke Riegan and the other was from someone from House Blaiddyd, and since Dimitri had no reason to be mailing her a letter it could only have come from one other person.

Holding the Blaiddyd envelop at arm's length, she stared at it as if it would tell her all she needed to know without reading the letter. She pressed her lips together as she continued to keep the letter a bay. She wasn't ready to read it and discover what disappointment it held within.

With a sigh she decided to put that letter on hold for the moment to read Duke Riegan's letter first. As soon as she opened the envelope she was hit with the scents of spices, instantly reminding her of her brief stay at Riegan Manor. She smiled as she recalled how much Riegans love spices and made a note to buy some Almyran Pine Needles tea the next time she was in town so that she could have a nice tea party with Claude.

_[[ Dear Miss Alexandre or is it Miss Eisner? ]]_

It was just at that moment that Byleth realized she never gave anyone in the Alliance (besides Claude) her real name. She was going to have to fix that. Luckily, she only had a select few people that would probably like to know her real name.

_[[ If your name is truly Byleth Eisner than there is no need for you to apologize for giving me a false name, I understand why you did it. I do hope that you will share your real name with me some time. I never did believe the rumors that came out of the Kingdom that surrounded you. The rumors always did sound like some attempt to separate the young prince of Faerghus from his commoner friend. After meeting you I have come to believe that there is no credibility to those rumors as you are not someone capable of doing such a thing._

_You must be surprised to receive a letter from me, my grandson had always informed me of how everything was going in your life and so I did not feel the need to write you a letter but now that he is away, I guess it now falls on me to write you a letter, not that I mind. While this letter is meant to determine if you are well or not that is not its main purpose that is because I wish to show you my immense appreciation for once again saving my grandson. When you have the time, I would like to invite you to return to Derdriu so that I can properly show you my appreciation. It seems my family will always owe you a great debt and though I do no like being in debt to anyone, you are someone I can make an exception for._

_My grandson has told me that you have become a professor at Garreg Mach. Though, I have never witnessed your skills for myself, I did hear a great many things about them from several different people on my staff. It is a shame that the Alliance will no longer benefit from those skills, but if you ever so wish to return, do know that I will gladly give you your old job back._

_Well Miss Alexandre, I do hope my letter finds you in good health. When you do have some time to spare, I do hope that you will decide to pay Derdriu another visit. I do wish to see you again. Be well._

_Sincerely,_

_Oswald von Riegan ]]_

She smiled as she put the letter down. Duke Riegan, wasn't a very expressive man, and in the beginning, she thought he might have hatred her until she realized that wasn't the case. He was very different from King Lambert, who easily showed off his feelings and was quick to give his affection. She was pleased to learn that the Duke didn't just tolerate her but actually liked her.

She basked in the good feeling for a bit before she resigned herself to reading the other letter. She stared at the seal for the longest time, in an attempt to distract herself from having to read the letter and to enjoy a pleasant memory. Her fingers ran over the seal, feeling all the sharp lines of the Crest of Blaiddyd. She first saw the crest on the back of King Lambert's hand and back then it meant nothing to her but now it brought so many emotions. With a final deep breath, she opened the letter and was greeted with no pleasant scents; no fanfare, just a plain old letter, just like she expected.

_[[ Dear Miss Eisner, ]]_

She paused to sigh; she really didn't want to keep reading.

_[[ Tales of you saving my nephew and becoming the professor of his class has reached my ears. I will state this now, I do not see you violating our deal. With the exception of the one letter, you have been faithful to the deal for the last four years. I will concede that it is the will of fate that you and my nephew are meant to be together. As I do not know how to describe the happenstances that led you to meeting Duke Fraldarius in Derdriu or saving my nephew from some bandits. Since you now work for the church, the only entity in all of Fodlan, that can give you permission to enter the kingdom despite a royal decree, maybe that too is the will of the goddess and if so I shall not fight it. I will let you know that I never did am offical royal decree exiling you from the Kingdom that was just between you, me, and the few people that Duke Fraldarius shared with. If the church sends you on a mission to the Kingdom, by some chance, you should have no problems entering._

_I know I was cruel with my judgement to separate you two, but I standby it. You two live in completely different worlds. My nephew's world is vicious and inhuman. You are a sweet woman who is willing to sacrifice yourself just for the sake of making someone else happy. An admirable trait, if also not a foolish one, my nephew's world would eat you alive with no hesitation. But you already know that do you not? I did what I did to try and protect you, but it seems I have failed, and I will accept my defeat._

_I will no longer intervene in whatever you and my nephew wish to do. I just hope you two will think things through before you two foolishly rush in. Be well, Miss Eisner. I do hope that fate is not too cruel to you, and tramples over you in its regard to keep you and my nephew close._

_Sincerely,_

_Rufus Bain Blaiddyd ]]_

She placed the letter on the desk and stared at it. She wasn't sure what to make of it. A part of her wasn't surprised by the contents of the letter at all, as he had never really been outright antagonistic against her but still…A frown plastered itself onto her face as she stared down at the letter. She wasn't sure why, but she felt terrible for disappointing Lord Rufus; she didn't plan for all of it to happened, it just did; like it was the will of fate like he said.

Claude's voice broke through the still of the classroom and when she looked up, she could barely see him standing outside. She grabbed the Duke's letter to show him. When she stepped out and discovered that Dimitri was with him, she was pleased to see them getting along. Dimitri was quickly at her side when he noticed her.

"Heya By," Claude greeted and Byleth tapped the Duke's letter against his head. "What is this?" He took the letter and smiled upon looking at it. "I should have expected Gramps to write you a letter. He always asked about you whenever I received a letter from you."

"He wants me to visit Derdriu," she said. "He says he needs to show me his proper thanks for saving you again." She nudged him lightly and he nudged back. "I wonder what my reward will be."

"Maybe Gramps wants to offer you my hand in marriage."

"What?!" Dimitri shouted as he looked at Byleth, who was pretending to be deep in thought. "By, you cannot be seriously of thinking marring Claude, can you?"

"I guess you would make an alright reward," she said and was still "inspecting" Claude. "I would prefer something better."

"Ah, rude!" The Alliance heir mocked hurt. "I am the best prize across this land, I will have you know!"

"You are not serious By, are you?" Dimitri asked but she continued to ignore him.

"I feel like you must do something to deserve my hand in marriage_. _Seems a bit unfair that I do all the work and you get to marry me," she said. She rested her weight on one side as she continued to "inspect" Claude. "You must defeat me in battle if you wish to marry me."

"What?!" both Claude and Dimitri shouted in unison.

"That, I believe, would be the most annoying task for you." Claude made a face at her.

"Then you are staying single forever." She laughed and he soon joined in.

"Is-Is that all that is really needed for you to marry someone that asks you?" Dimitri asked quietly and she finally turned to address him.

"No, just for Meadow because I know it will annoy him."

"Rude!" Claude chimed in with a laugh.

Dimitri fidgeted by her side with a small pout. She patted his head in hopes of calming him, but it seemed to only upset him more. With a small shake of her head she decided to not pursue his issue anymore and focus on Claude instead, who was watching them with a curious smirk.

"You told Duke Riegan my real name?" she asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, sorry I kind of forgot in my excitement," Claude said as he threw his hands behind his head. "I do not think Gramps minds that you used a fake name, though."

"You gave the Sovereign Duke of the Alliance a fake name?" Dimitri asked and it seemed curiosity got the better of his sour mood.

"Yup, she went and called herself Byleth Alexandre." Dimitri's face broke out into a blush as Claude leaned towards the taller man with a smirk. "I always did wonder where she got that name from." He nudged the prince, who refused to look at him. "Well, I will leave you two alone as I should see if my teach needs me before class."

Byleth watched as Claude left. When he ducked into his classroom, she entered hers and nearly forgot about Dimitri with how quiet he was. She stood in the doorway for a few seconds before he got the hint to come inside.

"So, um…," he quietly mumbled as he followed her to her desk. "Do-do you not like the name Blaiddyd?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Y-you used my middle name instead of my last name." His face was red as he mumbled the final parts while looking at the floor.

"Of course, I couldn't call myself a Blaiddyd, now could I? I was trying not to draw attention to myself with a fake name." She sat at her desk watching the squirming teen, in front of it.

"Oh yes. T-that makes sense." She could tell that he said that more to himself than her.

"Besides, why would I want to call myself by such a difficult name like Blaidid?"

"Blaiddyd!" he shouted with a little foot stomp and she broke out laughing.

"You easily fell into that old gag." He joined in her laughing fit.

It took a few seconds for them to settle themselves. Dimitri had seemed to be in a better mood and she almost didn't want to ruin it. Sitting back in her chair she eyed Lord Rufus' letter.

"Duke Riegan isn't the only one who sent me a letter."

"Oh? Did you make another friend in the Alliance?" She shook her head and held up the envelope that Lord Rufus' letter came in and instantly Dimitri's whole demeanor darkened. "And what did my uncle say?"

"He said that he is going to stop trying to separate us." The look in his eyes, told her that he didn't believe her, so she handed him the letter. His eyes widen slightly but his expression remained dark after he finished it. "How did he know it was the Jeralt Mercenaries that rescued you and that I became your teacher?"

"That is because I told him in a letter." She arched an eyebrow, and he sighed. "I knew he would have found out eventually so I thought it would be best that I was the one to tell him." He crumped up her letter and she gave him a small glare for destroying her property, but she said nothing.

"What should I write to him?"

"Nothing!" There was a lot more venom in his tone than she liked. "You do not need to write my uncle anything."

"Are you telling me to not write back to a nation's leader? Wouldn't it be seen as rude on my part?"

"My uncle does not need to be shown such respect. Not from you of all people! He is undeserving!" She stared at him for a moment as he glared at the floor as if it there was some unseen enemy. It was a bit hard for her to accept that the once peaceful boy that loved his family so dearly was capable of having such hatred towards his last living family member. "I will write him a letter, so you do not need to worry about it."

She would admit she wasn't really fond of Lord Rufus. The separation was cruel, but she understood why he did it. He did protect her in away. She didn't want to think what the nobles would have said and done to her if she were to have returned.

"I don't think Lord Rufus is such a terrible man." He was one of the few Kingdom nobles that treated her with some respect. And, she glanced at the crumbled letter in Dimitri's hand, she believed that he was truly trying to protect her.

"For two years I had to believe that I killed you because of his stupid rule!" Dimitri's voice rang out in the empty classroom and she feared that Professor Hanneman and Claude heard him. His body began to tremble, and the letter was crumbled even more in his tightly balled fists. She got up to quickly rush to his side. "I had to go four years without ever having hope of seeing you again because of him!"

She reached out and cupped his face and he allowed her to guide him to look at her. "Yes, but I am here now. I will never leave your side again!"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The letter slipped from his hands as he grabbed hers and pulled them down to rest in between them. He leaned closer to rest his forehead against her and opened his eyes to stare into hers. She stared back into his blue eyes and saw a bit of the darkness in them recced.

"Yes, yes you are," he whispered so softly. "And for that I am forever grateful."

* * *

That night Byleth sat at the desk in her room, staring at her letters. She was going to write to Duke Riegan no matter what, especially after Claude had told her he would appreciate one. Her problem was what to do about Lord Rufus' letter. She wanted to send him one, but Dimitri was completely against it. He refused to acknowledge any of the points she made about Lord Rufus possibly being a decent guy. She couldn't blame Dimitri though, if she went two years believing she had killed him because of Lord Rufus than she was sure she would feel the exact same way.

With a deep sigh she pulled out some parchment and ink. Dimitri might be against it, but she decided she was going to send the letter regardless. It was the least she could do for one of the very few Kingdom nobles that treated her with respect.

_[[ Dear Lord Rufus, ]]_

Or should she refer to him as King Regent? That was so unlike her to use a title unless she was directed to do so. She didn't use it when she spoke to him that one time but that was under a very strenuous situation where she was barely aware of what was going on. In the end she decided to leave it as is.

_[[ I never planned for all of this to happen so maybe this was the will of the goddess like you said. I am sorry if I disappointed you for taking the job. I truly never planned for any of this. I never once imagined that I would be stepping foot in Garreg Mach, let alone being a teacher there and a teacher to my friends no less. I did not choose to teach the Blue Lions; I was assigned to it as it was the only class that didn't have a professor when I joined. But I will not lie, if I were to be given a choice, I would have chosen the Blue Lions. I am sorry._

_I will not hide my feelings from you, I do greatly resent you for separating me from Dimitri and my other friends but now that I am older I believe I can understand why you did it. Before the Tragedy, before everything went to hell, I had started to believe that maybe I did not belong in Dimitri's world. That maybe our friendship was wrong and that it possibly should not have happened. But in the four years that we were separated I have decided that I will face his world head on, if it means I can continue to be his friend and stand by his side. My friends mean so much to me that I do not know if I want to live in a world where I could not continue to be their friend. I am probably being incredibly selfish in that regard, but I do not care as this is what I want!_

_Though I resent you, I do not hold any ill will towards you. I cannot begin to imagine how much stress you must have had to endure every day since the Tragedy. To not only lose your brother, but to also take care of your traumatized nephew, as well as being suddenly thrust as the leader of a nation and having to keep it from collapsing, I don't think there are enough words that could even come close to describing the level of stress you must have suffered under everything. I am sorry. My presence must have only added to your suffering. _

_I wish you all the best. I hope the situation in the Kingdom can get better now that Dimitri is close to coming of age. Again, I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused you. And I thank you for trying to protect me._

_Sincerely,_

_Byleth Eisner ]]_

She stared down at her letter unsure if it was enough. Enough for what though? Expressing her frustration? But she wasn't really frustrated with Lord Rufus anymore. She didn't know if that was because she was now with her friends or because she understood where he was coming from. So, was her issue being that she didn't apologize enough? Sure, she understood why he did it, but she also believed that he was a little to strict with it. Was it so terrible that she couldn't exchange letters with her friends?

With a heavy sigh she sealed the letter in an envelope so that she couldn't make any changes to it. She knew she wasn't going to be satisfied with it no matter what. She just felt too many conflicting thoughts and emotions towards that man. Maybe Dimitri was right. Maybe she shouldn't have written that letter. No matter, she already wrote it, so she was going to send it. Lord Rufus can make of whatever he wants with the letter for all she cared.

**Fifteenth of the Garland Moon:**

"Professor! Professor!" Annette shouted as she and Mercedes rushed towards Byleth, who had just got out of a faculty meeting.

"Do you need me for something?" Byleth asked. She very much wanted some time to herself at that moment. She had no idea that Professor Hanneman and Professor Manuela could argue so much, especially about useless stuff too. And then Seteth started lecturing them about it making the meeting even longer. And for some reason he started lecturing her about it as well, despite her remaining quiet throughout the whole ordeal. She was ready for some peace and quiet but oh well, Annette's smiling face was hard to deny, especially after her weeklong depression from the mission.

The two women held up their arms that where filled with white flowers. The professor stared at the flowers for a moment before looking at the women, seeking an explanation. The two girls exchanged looks before looking back at their professor.

"It is the Garland Moon," Annette said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. Byleth gave her students a nod as her prompt for more information. Annette looked to Mercedes for help.

"Since we all have been having a hard time since the last mission we thought it might be nice to make everyone garlands and hopefully that will cheer everyone up some more," Mercedes explained and understanding flashed over the professor's features. She was vaguely aware of the tradition that happened during that Moon though she never had a chance to participate. The only chance she had was with Claude but that had been one chaotic month that it passed by before she even realized it.

"That's nice. You two have fun then. I'm sure everyone will love your garlands," Byleth said with a little nod.

"You have to help too Professor!" Annette said and Byleth gave her a look. "I am sure Prince Dimitri would just love to receive one from you!" Would he? Wasn't this a tradition that kids participated in? Sure, she could easily picture a younger Dimitri demanding one, but would his current self really want one?

"There is more to this tradition than kids giving one to their friends," Sothis explained with that little knowing smirk that Byleth was beginning to hate. Was there? She couldn't remember there being one but then again it had been years since she last thought about that tradition. She waited for an explanation from Sothis that never came but she did imagine the girl's smirk growing. "I am sure the little prince would just LOVE to receive one from you."

Byleth had her doubts but it seemed like Annette and Mercedes really wanted her to come and she couldn't say know to their hopeful eyes. After dropping off her work in her room, Byleth joined Annette and Mercedes in the courtyard, in front of the classrooms, making the garlands. For some reason doing it in such a busy area made her self-conscious.

She glared at her ugly garland. Sure, arts and crafts were not her thing, but she wasn't terrible at them either, she was able to do some intricate details on leathers so why was she so bad at weaving flowers together? She glanced at Annette and Mercedes and they both had just started their third one and all of theirs looked so nice. Byleth didn't want to give hers to anyone.

"Oh, you finally finished?" Mercedes asked and the professor was tempted to hide hers behind her back. "It looks nice." Byleth made a face but said nothing.

Biting back a sigh Byleth reached out for some more flowers, only for Annette to sudden jump up, stopping her. "Professor, what are you doing?!" Annette shouted and Byleth froze. Did she do something wrong? Was there an etiquette to this tradition? She could feel Sothis snickering in the back of the mind and it wasn't helping.

"Making another one?" Byleth said slowly and unsure.

"Why are you doing that?!"

"Because we are making them for the whole class, right?"

Annette made some unintelligent noises and weird gestures before looking at Mercedes. With her ever present calm smile, the healer said, "Professor, why don't you give yours to Prince Dimitri." Annette butted in with a loud "yeah". "We will finish up the rest and distribute them for you."

"Is mine really that bad that you don't want me to help anymore?" Byleth asked with a pout. She knew she was being childish, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Oh no! Yours looks nice, honest! It is just…um…Mercie help!" Annette cried as she latched onto her friend's arm.

"We know that you are busy Professor and we appreciate you indulging us with this, but we don't wish to take up anymore of your time." Okay, Byleth could accept that but why did she have to give hers to Dimitri, specifically? "As for why Prince Dimitri, he would be the one most to appreciative to receive one from you." Again, Annette butted in with a loud "yeah". Byleth still had her doubt but she decided to not argue with them.

"What are you guys up too?" asked a familiar voice and Byleth turned to see Claude with a large smile on her face. It had been some time since she got to spend time with him that didn't involve her stress or anxiety.

Wrapped around his neck were several white garlands that looked way nicer than hers. On top of his head was an especially nice one that had small more colorful flowers mixed in, it almost looked like a crown and she found it oddly fitting for him. She could easily see him being a fairy prince or something. She became more self-conscious of hers as she gripped it slightly tighter.

"Making garlands, I see." He looked down at the one, in her hand, and she wished she hide it. "Who are you going to give it too?" He gave her a little knowing smirk and she frowned a little. "His kingliness by chance, hm?" Of course, she would give it to Dimitri, shouldn't that have already been obvious? But why did no one seem to expect for her to not give it to others? She had more friends than Dimitri!

She held up hers towards Claude and he looked at it with wide eyes. Her frown turned into a scowl. Of course, she was going to give him one! He was one of her precious friends!

"Professor no!" Annette screamed and everyone looked at her. "Um, I mean…um…"

"I do not need it," Claude said, and everyone's focus was on him. "As you can see, I have a few. Maybe you should give it to someone, who does not have any?"

"Like Prince Dimitri!" added Annette, and Claude sighed before nodding.

"Like his kingliness." Her frown remained but she decided to just keep quiet.

"Claude!" a female voice called out as its owner rushed over.

"Hilda," Claude said as he turned slightly to address her. "What brings you here?"

"You!" she said before she looked at the others. When she laid eyes on Byleth her eyes widen for a moment before a mischievous glint filled them. "Professor Eisner! Or should I say Professor Alexandre since I do not see a ring on your finger."

Claude gave Byleth a sympathetic look. Hilda had been the one that Byleth most needed to let know most about the lie. The girl had even sent Byleth a few letters and the older woman had felt bad after that for lying but Byleth didn't know if was okay to tell her in a letter or not; so she opted to not say anything as she always believed that she would see Hilda again and would explain the situation in person.

"About that I'm sorry for lying to you about my name. There is a terrible rumor about me in the Kingdom and I didn't know if it was going to be okay to share my name or not as I didn't want to hurt Meadow's reputation," Byleth sheepishly explained hoping that no one would seek out a further explanation.

"You are Prince Dimitri's mistress?!" Annette shouted and then swiftly covered her mouth as soon as she was done. Instantly Byleth was bright red, while Annette was sporting her own little blush and was looking down. "I am sorry. Your name has always sounded so familiar and now I know why…"

All eyes were on Byleth and she wanted to crawl under a rock and die. She really didn't want to explain that to anyone, especially in not such a public place. Her head shot up as she looked around and was grateful to discovered that it was just them at the moment. If no one else heard that would just be downright wonderful and a small blessing in this little nightmare that she found herself in.

She groaned loudly. She really, REALLY didn't want to explain that of all things. Could she use Sothis' power to get out of it? The girl, in her head, shook her own head no and Byleth groaned again. What good was that power then? She felt Sothis' glare.

"I guess I should explain my strange situation with Dimitri," she started off with a sigh. "When I was ten, my father accepted a contract in Fhirdiad to help defend the citizens from Giant Wolves during the winters. From there I met a seven-year-old Dimitri, who was very lonely. He was the only kid in the castle, so he was desperate for friends." She made sure to emphasize their ages, in hopes of having everyone truly understand why being called a mistress not only bothered her but creeped her out as well (once she knew what a mistress was). "He clung to me and would ditch his classes to play with me. Soon, I was forced to attend the classes with him, just so he would go."

"Oh, so that is what you meant," Claude interrupted, and it took her a second to understand what he meant, and she nodded when she did.

"For the next five years every winter my father's mercenary company would accept the contract and I would live in Fhirdiad and eventually I would come to stay in the castle for a few months throughout the year. During those years Dimitri would cling to me and I, a lowly commoner, was given special treatment because of it. Many of the nobles didn't like it and started to spread the rumor that King Lambert was grooming Dimitri's mistress."

She took a small break as she could already feel her blood boiling because of the next explanation. "When I was fifteen the Tragedy of Duscur happened." There was a small pause as the mood dropped at the mention of that event. "Some nobles that didn't like me having such an "influence" on Dimitri used that as an excuse to spread a rumor that I had helped to orchestrate the Tragedy because I had grown impatient waiting for power."

She gripped her arms in an attempt to reign control of her anger. "I loved King Lambert, Lady Patricia, and Glenn. I would never do such a thing!" she mumbled out that last part and folded in over herself as she became overwhelmed.

She felt a hand rub her back and when she looked up, she saw that it was Claude and his expression didn't make her feel any better. She gave him a small smile as she slowly uncurled herself. Taking a deep breath, she was back in control, somewhat.

"I was driven out of the Kingdom because of that rumor and I was not allowed to see or have any contact with my friends."

"What?!" Annette shouted and it went ignored.

"I didn't know if the rumor had spread to the Alliance or not." She was now focusing exclusively on Claude and Hilda. "I was afraid that the rumor could damage your reputation and I couldn't have that. So, I used the fake name. I'm sorry for lying to you."

Hilda's hands covered her mouth and her eyes were misty. She shook her head and no sound escaped her. Byleth didn't want to upset the pink haired girl but at the same time she felt good to see that reaction. To know that an outsider was on her side.

"By," Claude's voice was quiet at first before it became fierce, "that, that is so abhorrent! Are the Kingdom's nobles really that vile?!" He glared daggers at the ground and his fits were tightly clenched.

She said nothing for a long moment. She didn't know what to say. Glancing at her students she discovered that Mercedes was comforting Annette, who was offering apologies for things that Byleth didn't blame her for.

"That is all in the past," she finally said, and once again commanded everyone's attention. "I much rather focus on the present, especially now that I can be with all my friends."

"But still!" Claude shouted and she gave him a small smile.

"I appreciate the thought, but we have no way to change the past." Sothis whispered a small apology but Byelth just brushed it off with a small shake of her head. "Lets just focus on a bright future."

It was clear that that wasn't enough to dissipate Claude's anger, but she didn't know what else to say. Glancing at the garland that had fallen onto her lap she decided on what she needed to do. Getting onto her feet, she was very much aware that the mood wasn't really going to change with her around.

"I'm going to give this to Dimitri." She held up the garland to bring everyone's attention to it.

"I'm sure, he will like it very much," Mercedes said remaining the calm that everyone needed. Byleth gave her a small nod and left, hoping that with her gone everyone's mood will lift.

Even though she said she would give her garland to Dimitri, she didn't want too. She just wanted to go to her room and avoid everyone. But she knew if she didn't, she was probably going to hurt her students' feelings. However, she wasn't really in the mood to see anyone, so she cut through the gardens to try and avoid the busier areas and be potentially stopped by someone.

"Heya By!" someone called for her as she tried to slip past the gardens unseen and she bit back a sigh.

After she was sure her expression was neutral, she looked up to see it was Sylvain, who called her and was now walking towards her. He had a near ridiculous number of garlands wrapped around his neck. Her eyes were fixated on the garlands. Why did he have so many? Wasn't it just a traditions kids liked to do? She could understand why Claude had some, he was a bit childish, and that could spark someone to make him one but Sylvain?

"Is that for His Highness?" Sylvain asked with a little grin that bothered her a little. Again, with Dimitri. Why did she have to give hers to Dimitri?

She held up the garland to him. "Do you want it?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Nope, you should give that to His Highness." She frowned but kept quiet. "He is in the training ground I bet he is waiting for you."

Why? She decided to not ask and gave him a nod before leaving. As soon as she gave it to Dimitri the sooner, she could go hide in her room and be done with the tradition.

Just as Sylvain said, she found Dimitri in the training grounds along with Dedue and some unknown female student. She was handing Dimitri a garland, to add to his already several ones. Again? Maybe there was more to this tradition that she was forgetting about and maybe she should try and remember. She sensed Sothis' knowing smirk and decided to just forget about it and remain ignorant.

Having given her garland the female student dashed out the grounds with a happy blush on her face. Byleth watched the student leave for a bit before turning to look back at Dimitri, who seemed to be struggling with what to do with all of his. All the ones he had were nice and pretty, unlike her clumsy mess of one. Now she really didn't want to give it to him. Besides, didn't Claude tell her to give it to someone who didn't have any?

Before she could leave, he spotted her, and she bit back a sigh. He cheerfully called out to her, while Dedue had retreated further into the room. She didn't have time to dwell on why Dedue wasn't joining them before Dimitri was upon her.

"What brings you here?" he asked. He glanced at the garland in her hand before snapping his eyes back to her. He didn't comment on the garland but there was a little hopeful glint in his eyes that Byleth found adorable.

"I was just walk around and decided to stop by the training ground." She didn't know why she said the little lie, but the flash of emotions in Dimitri's eyes had her wanting to continue with it. As she watched him struggling to keep his eyes on her face and his hands fidgeting at his side, she realized that she had felt a lot better now. Even after all the years of knowing of him, she was still none the wiser as to why Dimitri always made her feel better and she was done trying to understand at that point.

"Oh," he simply said. Once again, his eyes dropped to the garland before snapping right back to her face. He was now bouncing on the balls of his feet and she could no longer help herself, she needed to tease him.

"How's training going?"

He hummed a little and it was clear to her that was not what he was expecting her to say. She struggled to keep herself from snickering. For the hell of it she folded her arms across her chest, bringing the garland a little higher up.

"It is going okay," he finally said after a few seconds. His eyes lingered on the now slightly closer garland for a moment. "I keep getting interrupted though."

"Oh. I am sorry for disturbing you then. I shall take my leave." She turned slightly to add to her bluff.

"No! You are never a bother! Please do not leave!" She had to hide her escaped laugh as a cough. She turned back to him and now his gaze was constantly darting between her face and the garland.

"Oh, do you want me to help with training then?"

"Yes! I mean no! By!" he whined her name, completely forgetting where he was, and she burst out laughing. Grumbling, he covered his face with his hands.

"What is it?" she asked and was struggling to hold back her laughter. He mumbled something she honestly couldn't hear. "What was that?" He mumbled it again and again his hands muffled it. "I honestly can't you when you speak into your hands."

With a little whine he finally pulled his hands away. His face was as red as a tomato and he wasn't looking at her. He mumbled about the garland and she could see his hands twitching with the desire to cover his face.

She held up the garland, but he didn't look at it. "What about it?" He made a little whine. Laughing she wrapped it around his neck and somehow his face turned even redder.

"Are-are you sure you want to give it to me?" he asked as he finally looked at her.

"Of course. I made it with you in mind." His blush now extended to his ears and neck. That was true. Despite her getting annoyed at everyone trying to force her to give it to him, she had always planned to give him one.

He mumbled his appreciation but the large smile he wore was infectious. Despite her earlier annoyance she was glad she gave it to him. Any of her earlier despair was completely gone, under his bright smile and radiating mood and she found her desire to hide away was long gone.

He twirled one of the ends of the garland between his fingers and slightly buried his face into all the garlands around his neck. She had to fight back at a laugh, it was clear to her that he wanted to ask something else. He was terrible at hiding his emotions and she enjoyed that.

"Miss Oblivious is now allowed to think that," Sothis interrupted and Byleth frowned for a second. "Until you can actually see what is obviously in front of you, you cannot enjoy how much of an open book the little prince is."

Byleth didn't know what Sothis meant by that and she decided she wasn't going to humor the little voice in her head. Smiling, she decided to just focus on Dimitri. "What is it?" she asked, and he tried to bury his face further into his garlands.

"D-did you give anyone one else a garland?" he asked into the flowers and she nearly didn't hear him. She shook her head no and that seemed to give him a bit of confidence as he came out of his hiding a little. "T-then are you going to give anyone else one?" She wanted too but she was sure if she tried someone would just try and stop her, so she decided that she would give up on that. She shook her head no and he was once again being positively radiant with a giant smile on his face. If it truly made him that happy that she wasn't going to give anyone else one, then she could be okay with just making the one.

The pleasant moment came to an end when another female student interrupted them. The student asked to speak to the prince alone so Byleth decided to check on Dedue in the meantime. Or at least that was what she had planned to do so but she found her focus entirely on the two students from inside that training grounds.

A bitter feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she watched the girl show off her garland to Dimitri. Why should Byleth care if Dimitri was getting another one? He was clearly excited to be getting one from her so maybe he wanted a lot, then it should be a good thing that the girl was giving him one, right? So, why did it bother her so much? The other student gave him one and it didn't really bother her, nor the idea that several other girls had given him one; actually, that was starting to bother her a little.

Was it because of how close the girl stood next to him? Did she know nothing of personal space? As if Byleth was one to talk but she blamed Dimitri for that, he had been clinging to her ever since they first met. When the student tired to wrap her garland around Dimitri's neck a sour taste invaded Byleth's mouth. The professor was able to take in some comfort that he had stopped the girl at the very least, but he did accept her garland, much to Byleth's unexplained annoyane.

"Jealous?" Sothis asked with her dumb smirk, and Byleth didn't even bother to dignify the voice in her head with a response. Because why should she be jealous? Sothis didn't help with the bitterness that still dwelled within Byleth.

With a new garland in hand Dimitri walked over to her. He continued to hold the garland instead of wrapping it around his neck like with all the others. Why was that one being treated differently? Why did she care? She could feel Sothis little smirk growing and Byleth was grateful that she couldn't actually see it.

"Someone is popular," Byleth said with a bitterness she wasn't expecting. Dimitri's eyes widen for a moment before he reflected the smirk that she knew Sothis would be exhibiting if she was in front of Byleth right then.

"By, are you jealous?" he asked, and she gave him a small glare.

"Of what?" She snapped quickly and she wondered if she had been sparing too much with Felix because of how fast and challenging her tone had been.

Her remark didn't seem to bother him as his smirk grew. Wordless he removed her garland to wrap the new one in its place. She clenched her fists tightly not sure of what to make of it. Still maintain his little smirk he then wrapped hers around his neck.

"I want my favorite one on top."

"Why? It's much uglier compared to all the others." There was still a slight bitterness to her tone.

He learned towards her and he still had his smirk. The smirk no longer annoyed her as it was having a new affect on her and she believed it was because of the new look in his eyes. An excited feeling now bubbled within her and her hands clutched her clothes because she was afraid of what she would do with them and to him, when he was so close.

"Because it is the only one, I wanted," he whispered in a tone that had sent a slight shiver down her spine in a delightful way. Unable to find her voice she could only give him a small nod as she as stared into his eyes. That look in his eyes did something to her. She didn't know what, but she liked it. She felt helpless to it and she was okay with that. He could ask her to do anything when he looked at her like that…Apart of her wished he would ask her to do something, but he never did.

* * *

I fear that the Garland Moon is going to be longer than I expected. These two little moments I had not expected for them to be so long. Oh well, I ended up really liking them and I hope you did too.

A little warning that the next chapter will probably be delayed as it is midterms time and because of online classes I just have 8-page papers to write instead. Don't major in political science, kids.

I have now filled two different notebooks and then some with this story and I'm barely in the begging of part two. We are going to be in for a long ride, guys. A LONG RIDE. This story has officially become the longest thing I have ever written, and it will probably remain the longest thing. I hope you all are enjoying what I have written so far.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I wrote this chapter in between the two papers I had to write for my midterms because I am a terrible student. I hope you all enjoy the fruits of my procrastination

I also have just reached the over 200,000 words mark! I'm still baffled at how long this story is turning out to be.

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Sixteenth of the Garland Moon:**

"You have been in a really good mood for awhile now," Sylvain said with a little smirk. He, Felix, Ingrid, Dedue, and Dimitri were waiting outside their classroom. It had been too early for class, but Dimitri's good mood had him patiently waiting outside of it and his friends had joined him. The prince was grinning from ear to ear and didn't even mind the little nudging that Sylvain was giving him.

"It is disgusting," Felix grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest. He growled at Ingrid when she jammed her elbow into his side.

"Did getting a garland from By, really make you that happy?" Sylvain asked, clearly trying to direct the focus away from Felix and for that Dimitri was grateful.

"No. I mean yes, I am incredibly happy about that but that is not the only reason for my exuberance," Dimitri said and was practically beaming as he flashed the taller man a smile. "By, got jealous yesterday when a girl gave me a garland." His smile only grew. Felix rolled his eyes, Ingrid had a complicated smile (not that Dimitri really noticed), and Sylvain shook his head.

"You are not supposed to be accepting other women's garlands," Sylvain said, and Dimitri's smile began to wane a little.

"I tried not too but when they got so persistent or upset, I could no longer reject theirs." Sylvain shook his head again. "Besides, I know By, did not really understand the tradition." His smile left his face for a moment to sigh but quickly came right back. "But the fact that she got jealous means she is becoming more conscious of me, right?" There had been other times that he thought that, but they were small little moments, easily lost to time, but jealousy had to be something different; something major. "She is not seeing me as her childhood friend anymore, right?"

Both Sylvain and Ingrid gave him a smile, while Felix dropped his hands with a loud huff. "If she has any sensibility left, she will kill those emotions before you destroy her."

"Felix!" Ingrid shouted and he growled back at her when he avoided her punch.

Dimitri's smiled warped from a genuine one into his princely smile. He watched as his friends argued, like the outsider he had become in recent years; his body was there but his mind wasn't. Any traces of the joy he had been basking it was gone, and he found it incredibly difficult to be keeping his head up and looking forward. Putting on the mask that everything was okay, the perfect mask that he developed to protect everyone from the horror that simmered beneath his skin.

Felix was right. Dimitri knew that better than anyone else. Byleth would be so much better off without him. He wouldn't be able to drag her down to the abyss with him. The dead wouldn't be able to sink their fangs into her, if he avoided her. She deserved someone so much better than him. Someone stronger and more dependable. Anyone but him. He was so undeserving. How dare he take in delight that she might be jealous for him. She needed to be far away from him. Far from his decaying touch.

He felt a tight grip on his shoulders. He tried and failed to contain the shiver that ran through his body as he felt someone lean against him. The princely smile, he wore, finally left his face and he squeezed his eyes shut, no longer able to maintain a front that everything was okay.

"How dare you try to drag Byleth down with you!" the voice of Glenn's sneered into the prince's ear. "Byleth was never yours!" Dimitri's fingers dug into the sides of his legs, leaving bruises that would stay with him for a few days. "She was mine! I am a much better match for her!" He started to grit his teeth as the weight on him increased. "You not only robbed me from my family, from Ingrid, but from your precious Byleth as well! You-"

A different grip on his arm had Dimitri jumping slightly. He snapped his eyes open and was met with the concern browns of Sylvain's eyes, instead of the cruel stare of empty ones. He blinked a few times and looked at everyone as they all looked at him with concern, even Felix seemed a little worried.

"Are you alright?" Sylvain asked, and it took Dimitri a second to register what was said.

"Yes," he answered ever so quietly that he wondered if anyone even heard him. "Yes, I am fine." He tried to reassure them again, but his voice was still incredibly soft.

His gaze had settled on the floor, until some jostling from Sylvain had him looking at his friend. "I am sure that Byleth is becoming conscious of you. How can she not?" Sylvain nudged Dimitri, but he didn't respond. "By will be falling for you in no time!"

"Y-yeah!" Ingrid added. "How can she not? You two are perfect for each other!" Felix scoffed so she punched him, and he hissed in retaliation.

Dimitri looked at everyone, though it was a bit difficult for him to look at Ingrid and Felix. At their smiling faces, he felt his darkness recede. He wasn't able to return to his earlier joyous smile, but he could at least give everyone a soft smile.

"What are you all doing here so early?" the voice that had been delighting Dimitri for awhile now asked, and everyone turned to see Byleth and Claude walking towards them. Instantly, Dimitri's whole body felt hot at the sight of Byleth.

She was wearing a tight, oh so very tight, outfit. The white blouse looked to be a bit too small for her. Dimitri's focused was entirely on the one button that rested between the valley of her breast, waiting to see if it would pop off, and both his mind and body needed to see that happen. Eventually he was able to pull his sights away from the button to look at her tan skirt and a jolt rushed through his body. If the skirt hugged her so well at the front, he could only desperately wait and see how well it shaped her rear. Without being aware of it, he licked his lips as he stared at her.

"Like what you see?" Claude asked as he nudged Dimitri, breaking the prince out of his trance. Not really hearing what Claude said, Dimitri could only offer an unintelligent hum as his eyes were still glued to Byleth. The Golden Deer's leader nudged Dimitri a little harder. "Dude, you are staring!"

"What?" Dimitri slightly shouted as he finally tore his eyes away. "I-I am not!" The little smirk Claude was sporting, had the prince's cheeks heating up.

"By, what are you wearing?" Sylvain asked giving Dimitri the perfect excuse to look at someone other than Claude or Byleth.

"Oh, this?" Byleth asked as she twisted her body a little to show off her clothes as well as giving Dimitri a small tease of what her bottom looked like in that skirt, and once again she commanded his full attention. "Flayn noticed that I only have heavy clothes to wear and with summer blaring down on us she offered me this old school uniform. She said it was banned but she didn't know why."

"I think I do," Sylvain quietly mumbled and Ingrid elbowed him. "What? You are thinking the same!"

"Anyway, as a professor I should have no problem wearing it."

"Glad to hear it," Claude said and nudged Dimitri. "I am sure his kingliness agrees, right?" Dimitri didn't hear any of that.

"That outfit does seem a lot cooler than your other clothes, but," Ingrid said but paused briefly, "I thought you didn't like wearing skirts or dresses."

"I despise them." There was a brief frown on Byleth's face and Dimitri was able to tear his eyes away from his "inspection" of her body to notice that the frown turned into a confident smile. "But I decided to face your world head on and for that I need to get used to these types of clothing."

"I do not understand." Ingrid furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's alright. I decided that I'm not going to be submissive to Faerghus' nobility any longer! I'm going to make them acknowledge me!" There was a resounding cheer from her friends.

"I will do everything I can to help!" Dimitri said as he took a mini step toward her.

"I bet you will," Sylvain snickered behind him and the Blue Lions' leader's cheeks began to turn a nice shade of pink.

"You will need to stop staring at her to do that," Claude added, and Dimitri's blush spread to the tips of his ears.

* * *

Class had been progressing relatively smoothly. Dimitri had been extra attentive that day. He would like to proclaim that he could tell you everything about that day's lessons but that would be a complete lie; he wouldn't be able to tell you a single thing about any of the lessons that day. He could tell you how stubborn the one button on Byleth's blouse was or how perfect that skirt hugged that magnificent bottom of hers, though.

The final lesson for that day was a free lesson. Byleth liked to keep the last lesson open so that students could ask her questions more comfortably and it seemed like the quieter students liked it. Dimitri ignored the homework, that he usually finished during that time, to continue staring at her. She bent over, giving him a lovely view of her bottom and his quill snapped under his strong grip. He felt his blood rushing to an undesirable location and he didn't want to care about it so that he could continue watching her but he knew it would be quite embarrassing if he was discovered in such a situation; so he reluctantly looked away to deal with the broken quill that would be pointless to bother trying to glue together.

"You really like that outfit, huh?" Sylvain asked and Dimitri leaned towards his friend to "listen" better but was just another excuse to look at Byleth from a different angle. "I cannot blame you though. It does a marvelous job at accentuating all her lovely features."

"You two," Ingrid quietly grumbled. The slightly hostile tone grabbed Dimitri's attention and he looked away from Byleth. His innocent stare was met by a disapproving one. "Honestly, I am disappointed in you, Your Highness." He wasn't expecting to hear that and so he sat straight as he turned to look at her better. "Starring at By like that, is highly disrespectful!"

"I was not starring!" he shouted only loud enough for just his little group to really hear. Ingrid continued with her disapproving stare and Sylvain gave him a little smirk. "I was not…" He looked to Dedue for support, who only gave him a shameful, small nod. He looked at his friends and a blush crawled its way up his face as he hung his head.

"I cannot blame him," Sylvain laughed as he leaned back, "it is hard to not stare at By when she wears that." Dimitri gave the ginger haired man a glare and so Sylvain leaned over his table to match the glare with a smug grin. "Starring is improper, Your Highness." The glare quickly dissolved when the blush returned.

"You both are terrible!" Ingrid grumbled. "By, should be treated with respect!" Dimitri hung his head.

"Most definitely! But that does not mean we cannot appreciate the view, right Your Highness?" Both Dimitri and Ingrid gave their older friend a glare, who just laughed it off. Sylvain sat back in his chair and watched the other half of the classroom. "We were not the only ones staring." Dimitri followed Sylvain's gaze. "Seems like Ashe is enjoying the new look as well."

Dimitri watched as Byleth tried to explain something to the clearly flustered boy. It seemed like Ashe was trying to listen to her but would constantly drop his gaze and fidget a little. Dimitri noticed how tight Ashe's body was and how he kept his legs pressed close tighter. The back of the blond's throat burned, and he sighed. Was he really getting jealous just because an adolescent was finding Byleth attractive? He was hopeless.

He continued to watch as Byleth tried to demonstrate something with a bow but was struggling thanks to the tight outfit. Ashe tried to convince her that it was okay, but Dimitri knew that Byleth's stubbornness wouldn't let it end like that. After a few more attempts she managed to strike the proper pose and he wondered if she had to rip her clothes in the process.

"As much as I like the look and I think I understand what she is trying to do, but maybe it would be best for her to wear something else?" Sylvain asked and Dimitri glanced at him. "Afterall it is incredibly important that both Ashe and His Highness are able to focus during class." With warm cheeks again, Dimitri hung his head.

"I agree but By seems so determined," Ingrid said.

"Well we just have to make her see how impractical that outfit is for teaching but encourage her to wear it on our off days so she can get used to it and still allow His Highness the chance to enjoy it."

"Sylvain!" Dimitri weakly protested, "I do not enjoy it that much…"

A clap from the front of the class grabbed everyone's attention and saved Dimitri from another teasing remark. Byleth stood at the front giving everyone a quick overview of that day's lessons. Dimitri's eyes roamed over her, and not because he wanted to look over her body (honest) but because he was curious if she ripped her clothes in her earlier stunt. No tear could be found, and he refused to acknowledge the little disappointment he had from that.

With her review done the class was allowed to pack up and leave, and some did that, Dimitri wasn't one of them. He would get the pleaser of getting to stay after class to help her with whatever she needed. _Whatever she may need._

With a quiet groan, he rested his head on the table. He would finally admit he had been staring at her all day, but he had been strong and kept such impure thoughts at bay. He wasn't like Ashe. He had managed to keep an unwanted guest at bay…until that moment. Groaning into the table he tried to think of a way of not only getting out of his responsibilities but as well as rushing into his room without being seen.

"Hey!" Felix's shout caused Dimitri to look up, though he didn't get up. The swordsmen stormed his way over to the front of the class after most of the students left, leaving the usual friends behind.

Byleth crossed her arms over her chest, clearly used to Felix's brash attitude. She gave him a little challenge smile, but it quickly vanished when Felix didn't bite back. His gaze dropped for a moment before snapping back to look her in the eye. Dimitri sat up in his chair, unsure if he should intervene or not.

"That scar," Felix started as his gaze dropped again. She cocked her head to the side but said nothing. "The one on the back of your knees." Flinching, she glanced behind her as if to verify what he saw. After that little show, everyone walked over to them and stood behind Felix, except for Dimitri, who stood next to him, but the swordsmen paid him no attention. "How did you get it?"

Dimitri noticed how Byleth continued to look behind her, refusing to look at them or say anything. She brought her arms up to wrap around her and he noticed that her fingers dug lightly into her arms. Felix stepped forward and she finally looked at him.

"A scar like that…" Dimitri watched Felix carefully, as he couldn't remember the last time, he heard such a soft tone from his friend. "You should be crippled." Dimitri's eyes instantly flew to Byleth, who again was looking away. He was barely able to register the gasps from the others.

"Yes," Byleth finally said after a moment of silence. Her arms fell to her side as she continued. "I should be. I guess you can say it is only by the will of the goddess that I am not."

She fell back into a silence, but it was clear that their intense stares were getting to her. With a heavy sigh she looked at everyone. She still remained silent until Felix took another step forward.

"I got it not long after we were separated." Folding her arms across her chest, she looked off to the side. She made her displeasure known but Dimitri couldn't bring himself to tell her that she didn't need to continue. "While I was still recovering from when those mask assailants nearly killed me that night I was released, they had attacked my father's camp." She paused to stare daggers at the wall. "Too weak to defend myself, they were able to whisk me away from my tent with an ease that I hate to admit."

Dimitri's fists were balled tightly as he carefully watched Byleth. Her gaze slowly drifted to the floor before snapping back up at the wall. "They tried to teleport me away but for reasons I still do not know, they were unable to get very far." His gauntlets began to strain under his intense grip. "So, I guess in a bit of desperation they sliced the back of my knees to prevent me from trying to run away." His breathing became shallow and intense. "It can only be by the will of the goddess that we had not been that far away from a town and I was able to get healing before the damage could become permanent."

"I was lucky that it was a group that wanted me alive. Back then it was so confusing. Some wanted me dead, others alive." She was talking mostly towards the wall, but she finally turned to look at everyone. "Now they all want me dead, so I guess that fraction won." The back of Dimitri's throat burned. How could Byleth say all that so easily? Where was her anger? She must know that all she needed to do was ask him and he would gladly break the necks of all of those, who would dare attack her.

"By," Ingrid whispered but it seemingly went ignored.

"That is all in the past. No need to worry about it anymore."

"No need to worry about it?" Sylvain asked and it was an incredibly rare occurrence, where he openly expressed his anger. "Those people have been attacking you for years! How can you be so passive about it?"

"Honestly? You kind of get used to it." The nonchalant response wasn't helping to calm Dimitri in the slightest or anyone for that matter.

"Bullshit! What is with this passiveness?" Felix roared. "Why are you so accepting of it?"

She stared at them for a moment. Furrowing her brows her gaze drifted towards the ground. "I guess," she started off strong, but her voice began to drift off, "I guess I just didn't expect to survive this long."

Gasps erupted out of everyone. Byleth stared at them with wide eyes, as if she had just discovered that fact right then and there. Dimitri rushed to her side and was about to grab her arm but hesitated as he didn't feel like that was the right thing to do.

Steel-blue eyes stared into his eyes, and he didn't know what to do. Should he pull her in for a strong embrace? Where he knows she will be safe, in his arms? Apart of him so desperately wanted to do that. But then what would he do with his burning rage that stems from the deepest part of his soul? The anger that seethes with the desire to kill all that would dare try to take Byleth away from him.

The decision was made for him by Ingrid, who tackled them into a bear hug. She screamed out Byleth's name as she buried her face into the older woman's shoulder. Before Dimitri could grasp what was going on, Sylvain shoved him further into Byleth, creating a group hug.

"By, we will protect you!" Ingrid muffled cried into Byleth's shoulder.

"Yeah!" Sylvain added, "you can count on us!"

"I'm the professor," Byleth said and her tone was much lighter, pulling Dimitri's attention back to her. Thanks to his friends, he was pressed against her, but he didn't realize how close he was until that moment. A blush warmed his cheeks but not because of their closeness but because of the pure joy he saw in those eyes, he loved so much.

"It's my job to be protecting you all!"

"We can protect you too!" Ingrid shouted as she finally pulled her face away to look at Byleth.

"Not with those terrible defensive skills you all have." Sylvain pushed more against Dimitri to rough up the professor's hair. Laughter soon erupted from everyone and that angered the burned earlier in Dimitri had simmered away.

All the friends kept declaring their desires to protect Byleth (Felix just grunted his approval). It took some time but eventually Byleth was able to comfort everyone and Sylvain and Ingrid brook away from the bear hug. After some coaxing, she convinced everyone to go get some dinner and that she would join them in a bit.

Dimitri remained behind as he still wasn't feeling to comfortable with leaving Byleth alone. Silently he watched as she organized her paperwork. When she was done, she turned to him and leaned against her desk.

"Ready for dinner?" she asked, but he said nothing. His gaze was focused on nothing. "Aster?" At the sound of his nickname he began to move to stand in front of her but was still quiet. "What is wrong?"

He reached out to touch her, but his hand hung limply in the air as he couldn't bring himself to actually touch her. She helped him out by grabbing and holding his hand. Rubbing his thumb over her knuckles he stared at their hands. He wished he wasn't wearing his gauntlets so that he could better feel her warmth.

"Aster, are you okay?"

"Are you okay?" he finally spoke but his gaze remained on their hands.

There was a bit of a pause but eventually she answered with a "yes". She guided their hands upward and his gaze followed before soon settled on her face. "What is wrong? I will not know unless you tell me."

He squeezed her hands as he took a step closer, closing the little distance that was left between them and her warmth soon spread throughout his whole body. Her steel-blue eyes looked up at him and he realized just how different hers were to his. He didn't normally see Byleth as a confident woman but when he looked into her eyes, he thought differently then. Her eyes were so clear, no shadows in them, no sign that anything was holding her back. And why would there be anything holding her back? Byleth wasn't like him. She was strong. She was able to face everything the world threw at her, head on.

"Are you really okay with leaving it all in the past?" She cocked her head to the side. "Do you not want to get revenge on those mask people that attacked you?"

"No." Her voice was so resolute that it left him speechless. "Revenge will not solve anything. I will still have those scars and memories. And I don't think it will change anything. They will still come. They will still try to kill me. Revenge is pointless."

No words could come to him. All he could do was just stare at her. How could she not want revenge? How could she believe that revenge was pointless? Does she feel the same about his revenge? She did say she would help him get his, but she had yet to reach out to him about it; not that he did the same to her but then again, he did not want her involved. But if she did not see the point of revenge, then was she worthy of helping him get his? His revenge wasn't pointless! His revenge would allow the dead to rest! Would she understand that if he explained it? Did he want to explain that?

Pulling his hand away he took a step back to stare at the wall behind her, so that he didn't have to look at her. He came to Garreg Mach to get revenge and yet he only just thought about that for the first time since she arrived. His fear was founded. The allure of the happiness that she had brought, had distracted him. He couldn't allow that. Byleth might not believe in revenge but that was only because she couldn't hear the dead. He owed it to the dead. That was his price for surviving that day. The dead deserved to have their revenge!

With a short goodbye, he excused himself. He faltered for far too long. He was no longer the pathetic little, child, he once was, he would get their revenge no matter the cost! And he would not let anything, or anyone get in his way. No matter how wonderful they may be.

**Seventeenth of the Garland Moon:**

After receiving an unexpected visit from Flayn, with the gifts of other uniforms and pants to wear, Byleth was starting to wonder if she should be wearing uniforms. Eventually, she decided to stick with her current outfit, since she didn't look like a student wearing it, but she did agree to wear pants at Flayn's insistence.

After acquiring her breakfast, she spotted Dimitri and Dedue at the end of the hall, eating. Happily, she sat next to Dimitri and wished the two a good morning, to which only Dedue returned. She wished the prince another good morning and he finally returned it with a mumbled one and he never took his eyes off his meal.

Seeking answer, she looked at Dedue, who had a blank expression, and she hated it. Did he know? Or did he not know? And if he did know it irked her but not because he wouldn't share the information but because it was a sign that Dimitri trusted Dedue more. And she hated feeling that way. She knew that Dedue had been a big comfort to Dimitri during the time they were separated and yet the feeling didn't go away.

She pushed her food around, no longer having an appetite and if her father saw her then, he would be proclaiming that the Eternal flame had been extinguished. It wasn't long after that Dimitri got up and excused himself with nothing more than a quick goodbye and he didn't even giver her a chance to respond. Dedue had given her a proper goodbye and she gave him a lackluster one in return.

Silently, she went back to pushing her food around with even less enthusiasm. What did she do this time? She knew had to be from something she said yesterday but what did she say that was so terrible? Apart of her knew it was a bit foolish to expect their friendship to fall back into the routine it was before everything had fallen apart, and yet she couldn't help but wish that it would.

"I do not think you are at fault," Sothis chimed in. "He is a young man and you did wear the quite exciting outfit yesterday. I would not be so surprised if he is just too embarrassed to look into your eyes after to doing a certain activity." Frowning Byleth finally took a bit of food. She didn't understand how her clothes could be a problem. "Byleth, really? Your father must be quite pleased with himself for being able to maintain your innocence, especially in a mercenary group!"

Feeling her cheeks warm, the former mercenary began to stuff her face as an excuse. She wasn't necessarily innocent because of her father. Many men had tried to entice her into doing some mature things, things she understood perfectly well. She just had never been interested. None of them had ever made her feel anything and she had never thought about it until now. Should she have felt something before? There had been a few instances as of late where Dimitri did make her feel something. Something she didn't really know what, but it had been something she wouldn't have minded exploring, if he had pursed it. Whatever it was.

"Maybe you were just saving yourself for the little prince?" She could feel Sothis' little grin as she danced around in her head. "After all you did make that promise to him. Oh, how adorable you are!"

Sitting her fork down, Byleth stared at her food. Was that really the case? As nice as it sounded, it didn't feel like that was the reason to her. It felt more like another defect of hers, like with her subdue emotions. That thought didn't sit well with her and no comforting words from Sothis made her feel any better.

* * *

Despite the rough morning, class had ended with a relative calm. Dimitri still remained distance but that was fine as she had several distractions to focus on instead. Distractions that she so desperately welcomed.

"Sylvain," she called out just as everyone was about to leave. "May I speak to you?" Dimitri spared them a quick glance before slipping out. She stared at the exist even when Sylvain had approached her.

"What can I do for you?" Sylvain asked and her eyes glided over to him. With a simple nod, she silently slid around her desk to have a seat.

Resting one of his hands on her desk, he leaned forward. "You have been distracted all day." She lightly gritted her teeth, she though she had hide it well. Has her blank façade started to crumble? Why? And how? What was wrong with her?

"Is His Highness-"

"Why do you call him, 'His Highness'?" she asked not because she wanted to know but because she need the distraction from her own thoughts. Standing up he looked at her with such confusion that she was starting to wonder if she was missing something.

"Because he will become king?" There was a frown upon his lips, and she matched it with one of her own.

"You know he hates it when you guys call him that." The frown deepened. "You didn't call him that before."

"That was because we were naïve kids, who did not know any better. He will become king. He is above us and so we must show him respect at all times."

She didn't like that. She didn't like that at all. Dimitri didn't want to be treated special; they all knew that. So why did they distant themselves? By their logic, she shouldn't even be addressing them, especially not Dimitri. There was a sharp pang of pain in her chest. She said she would challenge their world head on, but did she even have a chance? Could she even challenge it? She felt sick to her stomach.

"Well then, Lord Gautier-"

"By no!" He looked so hurt that she wished she could take back her words. "We may not be able to escape the suffocating traditions of nobility, but you are an outsider. You are free from it. So, please do not call us by our titles! Please do not force those restrictions on our friendship! Please…"

She pressed her lips together unsure of what to say. Everything was so much simpler when they were just children, free from society's harsh burdens and expectations. Maybe Lord Rufus was right. Maybe she didn't belong. No, she wouldn't worry about that. They needed her and she wasn't going to let them down.

"Alright then, Poppy." He smiled warmly at her and she felt all her negativity washing away. If they needed an escape from their harsh burdens than she would gladly be that escape.

"Well then, lets get to the point of why I called you." From one of the drawers in her desk she pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it out before him. She watched his eyebrows knit together as he looked over the paper.

"What does this have to do with me?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I want you to take the mage test next moon."

"What? Why?"

"You don't like training with lances." _Or training in general,_ but she decided to keep that thought to herself. He pressed his lips together as he stared down at the paper. "If I recall correctly, you and I have the same affinity for magic and you have an interest in it, don't you?"

His eyes remained glued to the paper. "I…" he stared but quickly stopped. He brought up his left hand, the hand that his crest was imbued into the palm of, and he silently stared at it. She wondered how much he must hate having his crest in such a visible location and yet he didn't wear gloves.

Clenching his fist, he threw away his hand away from him. "Gautiers, do not use magic." His tone was sharp, and she couldn't help but think that it didn't match him. "We use lances." She almost expected venom to start spewing out of his mouth at the amount of hate that spilled through the word "lances".

She dug into her drawer again and pulled out two parchments to layout before him. Slowly he looked at the paper and his eyes widen. He reached out to them before violently jerking his hands back to his side as if the papers would burn him. The little spark in his eyes that grew at the sight of them, vanished as he looked away.

Byleth tapped her finger on one of the papers until she brought his attention to it. "Isn't Lord Rodrigue trained to be a Holy Knight?" Sylvain was quiet for a moment before he muttered a quiet yes. She looked up at him, but he didn't match her gaze.

"I see what you are trying to get at, but my father looks down on Lord Rodrigue because of the class he trained for."

"Because he went down a path that focused on Faith magic?" A small nod was her answer. "Didn't Lambert also know Faith magic?"

"That is different. That is because of a tradition in the royal family."

Tradition? What tradition? She never heard of such a tradition that required the royal family to know Faith magic. Why didn't she know about it? Was she not allowed to know about it? She shook her head to dislodge those negative thoughts as that wasn't the time for her to focus on them. Though she did make a mental note to ask Dimitri about it later.

"Well, what would your father say about a Dark Knight? They can be quite devastating with both magic and lances."

"He…He would just think the same thing. He sees magic as something for the weak."

"He just doesn't know how deadly the combination of magic and weapons can be." He gave her a little smile, before dropping his gaze onto the papers.

"Poppy, what do you want to do?"

"What, I want to do…?" He never answered the question, but his gaze did settle on the flyer for the Dark Knight exam.

"You want to learn magic, don't you?" He said nothing. "I remember you being excited about learning about it when Lord Rodrigue hired that retired professor that one time." Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips together. "I will gladly teach you all that I know."

A silence settled over them. He finally picked up the flyer for the mage exam. The silence continued as stared at the flyer.

"Is it," he started but paused for a moment to look her in the eyes, "is it really alright for me to study magic?"

"Of course."

"My father would disapprove."

"So? He's not my boss." He laughed through his nose.

"He will probably challenge you."

"That's okay. I like a good duel."

"I would not put it above him to use the Lance of Ruin."

"If he needs a handicap than I'm willing to give him one." She sat back in her chair as he laughed a little. "I will defeat him even if he uses a Hero Relic. Imagine how much more valuable I will become after I defeat a Hero Relic. I will become the most sought-after mercenary in all of Fodlan."

He stared at her wide eye for a moment before breaking out laughing. He looked down at the flyer before looking at her. He almost seemed like he was free from something to her, and that brought a smile to her face.

"By, I wish to learn magic!"

"Wonderful! But my teachings do come with a price." He arched one eyebrow. "I want you to study with Annette sometimes."

"I will never say no to studding with a pretty lady." She rolled her eyes.

"She is really good with the theory of magic, but she struggles with the putting the theory to practice. She tends to over think and I'm hoping you can help her with that."

"If you really think I will be of help than I will try and give it a shot."

"Thank you." This had been going much better than she was expecting and for that she was grateful. "I have something to give you." Again, he arched an eyebrow.

From under her desk she pulled out a large, round object wrapped in a white cloth and handed it to him. He looked at her for a second before accepting it, but he didn't unwrap it. It took a bit of gesturing before he finally unwrapped it to reveal a nicely made, leather shield.

With every gift she gave her friends she had always, etched their crest into them because she felt like it was a way to personalize their gifts, but she couldn't do that for Sylvain. She spent hours agonizing over what to decorate his shield with. Eventually she had settled on a knight because he was always talking about how he wanted to be a dazzling knight. But now that it was in his hands, she was starting to second guess whether a knight was the right choice or not.

He ran his hand over the knight and was silent. She tried and failed to not squirm in her chair. She wished he would say something already. It was so unlike her to be so self-conscious over one of her leather projects.

"Now, that you are going to be training as a mage, you will not be able to wear as much armor," she started to say after the silence got to be too much for her. "I want to make sure that you are still safe, so I made you this shield as a late birthday present. I hope you like it."

He ran his fingers over the shield again before looking up at her. "Thank you. This is such a thoughtful gift, By." The warm smile he presented her, had all her fears melting away and she returned his smile with one of her own. "I will treasure this."

**Twenty Second of the Garland Moon:**

Byleth stared down at the leather bracelet in her hands. It had been her most detailed project yet, with the Crest of Serios etched in it along with a wide variety of flowers. She had never really felt proud of any of the gifts she had made before, but she was proud of that one and she hoped that Edelgard would like it.

After giving the bracelet one final look over, she wrapped it in the prettiest red material she could find. Grabbing the few carnations, she picked earlier, she made her way over to the Black Eagles' classroom, where a small celebration was being held for Edelgard. Tucking the gifts behind her back, she softly knocked on the classroom's door to announce her presence.

"Professor Byleth? Did you need to speak with me?" Professor Manuela asked as she started to make her way over to the younger woman.

"Oh no, I just wanted to speak with Ed-" Byleth started but stopped briefly when she noticed Hubert's scathing glare, "Lady Edelgard, if that is alright?"

There was a bit of a small clamor from the students and Byleth wondered if maybe she should have given her gifts at a different time. Eventually, the students hushed when Edelgard got up and after telling Hubert to stay, the princess walked towards the door. After Professor Manuela teased about not "hogging Edelgard for too long" she slipped away, leaving the two women alone.

"Happy birthday!" Byleth shouted, a bit more quietly than she meant too, thanks to her nerves. She held out the gifts and Edelgard was silent.

The smile Byleth wore started to become strained. The longer she held out the gifts the heavier they started to feel. She was about ready to just drop them and say goodbye when Edelgard finally reacted.

"…Thanks," the princess mumbled as she finally took the gifts. She showed no desire to want to open the wrapped gift and barely even glanced at them. The professor didn't want to ask about that.

Now that the gifts were out of her hands Byleth excused herself. She ignored the dull ache in her chest as she slipped into her classroom. Sothis' comforting words fell on deaf ears.

* * *

Eating dinner with her friends had helped to lighten Byleth's mood and helped her to forget about her earlier worries, even if Dimitri was still being a bit distant. After a quick spar with Felix, she walked toward the sauna to relax her muscles before taking a bath. She had almost reached the dorms when some kids caught her eyes.

In front of the dorms were two kids playing. They were running around showing off some carnations they found. They had put a smile on Byleth's face until she noticed that one of them was wearing a bracelet to large for her little arm. Her breath got caught in her throat when she spied the carefully etched Crest of Serios onto the piece of jewelry.

She heard Sothis call her name softly, but she didn't acknowledge the voice in her head. Slowly she made her way over to the kids and they stopped their game when she was close. Getting low, she wore a smile that could rival Dimitri's princely one.

"Hello," she said, and the kids happily greeted back. "Can I ask you a question?" The two kids shared a look before nodding their heads. "Where did you get that bracelet from?"

"We found it in a trash can," the kids said in unison. Her smile never waivered but she did feel her heart drop.

"It's pretty isn't it?" the girl, wearing it, asked and Byleth nodded.

"There were also these flowers," the other girl said as she nearly shoved the flowers into the professor's face.

A woman called for the two girls and they said their quick goodbyes before rushing towards the woman. Byleth watched them, the smile, she wore, was starting to hurt but she was unable to drop it. Once again Sothis offered words of comfort and once again Byleth didn't hear them.

She finally understood. Edelgard did not want to be her friend and so she wouldn't bother the young woman anymore. Forgetting all about the sauna and bath, she made her way over to her room. Byleth couldn't cry, but at that moment she felt like that was the closest she had ever come to crying.

* * *

A/N: Flayn didn't know why the summer uniform was banned but as soon as she saw Byleth wearing it she understood why. When Claude saw Byleth wearing it, he knew he needed to see Dimitri's reaction and Dimitri didn't disappoint.

I love the summer uniform but it's not exactly a proper uniform for a school setting. That didn't stop me from dressing Byleth in it, until the Dancer outfit became available.

So, I have a bit of a question for you all. I have another Dimileth story idea, a more mature one, brewing around in my head. I'm not really sure where I will go with it but I also kind of want to write it, so I'm curious if you all would be okay with slightly slower updates on this story so that I can attempt to write the other one? I would be switching back and forth between the stories (one week on Blue Eyes for example). The other story will not be anywhere near as long as this one.

If you guys just want me to focus on this one instead, I am okay with that. I don't really know where the other one will go so, I'm not super attached with it. I probably just have an idea for it because I'm trying to escape from all the papers that I have to write (I got more now that midterms are over).


	25. Chapter 25

I have two papers due next week so before they make me hate writing, I rushed this chapter. I hope you all like it.

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Twenty-fourth of the Garland Moon:**

The last two days had been absolutely terrible to Byleth. Keeping her emotions in check and fooling everyone into thinking that she was okay was just horrible, but she was quite good at it. Once upon a time, she wished for emotions and now that she was seemingly getting them, she wished to be free of them. The pain they brought with them was not worth it.

Seeking a distraction, she arrived at the training ground to either spar with someone or beat a training dummy into oblivion. Upon entering she made eye contact with Dimitri, who had been there with Dedue. It shouldn't have been a surprise to her to see him there, as he spent a lot of his free time there, but it did and it hurt that he immediately set about leaving, despite being in the middle of something. As he passed her, without even sparing her a glance, she was going to reach out and grab his arm, only for someone to call for her and distract her.

A girl with short, auburn hair had been the one that called out to the older woman and she had to bite back a sigh. Byleth didn't mind Leonie but she wasn't in the mood to be dealing with the student's rival spirit at that time. She glanced back at the entrance, only to discover that Dimitri was gone. Shoving down the pain in her chest, she turned to Leonie that was making her way over.

"Byleth are you free?" Leonie asked once she was standing in front of the professor. Despite Byleth wanting people to call her by her name, very few did outside of her friends, and it became a bit weird to hear her name from others.

"I am free," Byleth said, choosing to give Leonie her full focus instead of acknowledging the dull ache in her chest. "What can I help you with?"

"I want you to teach me your crest countering technique!" The professor blinked a few times, as it had been a couple of weeks since someone asked her about that, and she had just assumed that everyone forgot about it.

"Lorenz has been pretty annoying lately about his noble's duties and such." Leonie kept going on and on about the noble that Byleth started to tune her out a little. She had yet to really get to know Lorenz, but she did get a lot of complaints about him from Claude and a lot of female students. She was surprised that someone could have more female student complaints against him than Sylvain; actually, she was just surprised that Sylvain didn't have more.

"Anyway, I wanted to show him that being a noble isn't all that great and a commoner can be better than him and for that I need to know your technique!" Byleth once again gave the student her full attention. "A technique developed by a commoner to take down a noble and their stupid crest is perfect!" Except that Byleth didn't develop her technique with that purpose in mind or even thought about using it against a noble before she started teaching, but she decided to not say anything about it.

"Except my technique won't work against his," Byleth explained.

"What? Why?"

"My technique only works against physically enhancing crest. The Crest of Gloucester amplifies his magic so my technique will be useless against his." Now that she thought about it, her technique was only really useful against crest from the Kingdom's nobility. She could easily imagine how the Kingdom's nobles would try to use that fact against her and probably try to paint her as an enemy that was trying to figure out how to destroy the Kingdom. That thought only made her feel sick to her stomach.

"I see, but still. It would give me a leg up over nobles and I'll just have to use your technique as a base to develop my own against Lorenz!"

Before she could respond, a loud voice silenced her. From the other side of the training yard was a blue haired young man that she now knew his name was Caspar, and he was running up to them. A bit further back was a man with long, green hair that was slowly making his way over.

"If you are going to teach Leonie that skill than you need to teach me too!" Caspar demanded once he caught up. "I will be a way better fighter if I have such a skill under my belt!"

"I asked her first!" Leonie said.

"Well, I have been asking for a long time now!"

Byleth just watched as the two argued back and forth. She couldn't understand why neither of them bothered to ask if she could teach them both or if she was even going to teach them at all in the first place. After a minute or so the green haired man, Linhardt, she remembered, arrived, and said nothing but did sigh.

"Do you wish to learn it as well?" Byleth asked, ignoring the argument.

"Oh no, I have no desire to learn such a skill," Linhardt said, and she arched an eyebrow. "But I would like to see it demonstrated if you do not mind." She wouldn't say no to that.

With a loud clap, she silenced the bickering. All the students looked at her and she wanted to sigh at the challenging looks from the two active students. Folding her arms across her chest, she looked at the students, trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

"I'm not teaching either of you." A loud, union yell of "what" was their response. She held up a hand to silence them before they could bark out more, challenging words. She realized it was only thanks to Felix that she now knew how to deal with people like them. "It took me years of having the Crest of Seiros being used against me that I was able to develop the technique." The little, challenging glares remained but they nodded, while she seemed to have grabbed some more of Linhardt's attention. "You all are just not yet skilled enough to pull it off." They gave her looks of doubts and apart of her was tempted to beat some of their attitudes out of them in a display of overwhelming power.

"I will be willing to demonstrate the technique for you but you all will have to find someone for me to spar against."

"Alright!" Caspar cheered, and she was a bit taken back. She wished he could share some of that cheerfulness with her class. "Let's ask Prince Dimitir."

"No to Dimitri." Caspar pouted.

"And why not?" Leonie asked. "Didn't you already use your technique against his crest? Then you should have no problem doing it again, right?" And there was the rivalry that Byleth wasn't in the mood to deal with.

"First, he didn't want to do it the first time and I do not want to force him again." Not that he would even want to be close enough to her to do it anyway. She ignored the sharp pain in her chest from the thought. "Secondly, I broke two training lances during that stunt, and I have to pay for those so I'm not breaking more." And after Annette's kitchen fiasco the other day, she was strapped for funds. They nodded in understanding, to which she was grateful for.

"If I recall correctly, Catherine has returned," Linhardt mumbled. Catherine? That name sounded oddly familiar, but she didn't dwell on it for long as she quickly realized that it was a popular name. "She should prove a worthy opponent for someone of your skill level and since she posses a major crest it should be easier for the demonstration."

She nodded. "I will leave setting up the match to you all then." And with that Byleth left as she was ready for a break and she hadn't even done anything.

**Twenty-fifth of the Garland Moon:**

Byleth had to hand it to Caspar and Leonie, they worked fast. She would give Linhardt some credit, but she suspected he had very little to do with setting up the duel. She hadn't expected them to get Catherine to agree and so quickly too. She also didn't expect for the little spar to turn into such an event.

The duel was to take place in the courtyard because it was the only place that was open enough and could accommodate everyone. She had expected a few students to come and watch, but not all of Garreg Mach. Even the archbishop came to watch and with her came an even more expectant look in her eyes, and that just unnerved Byleth more. Tomas, too, was there but he was a bit a ways from everyone and she was wondering how he expected to get a look at the match, when she was sure his eye sight had to be bad, given his age; she decided to not think about him too much and realized that she should be grateful that he was keeping some distance. Under all the gazes, she was starting to feel a little sick.

Though the duel was becoming a grand event that she hadn't been expecting, it hadn't been the most surprising thing to her. The biggest surprise came from who her opponent was, it was the knight that gave her the most embarrassing defeat of her life during the Faerghus' Founding Day celebration in the year 1175. The memory of that defeat wouldn't leave her, and she wished she could have faced anyone but Catherine and her dumb crest.

"We set up everything like you asked!" Caspar practically shouted at her and she fought back a sigh.

"You have to clearly demonstrate your technique so that I can recreate it and improve it. Afterall, I am Captain Jeralt's number one apprentice!" Leonie bragged, and again Byleth bit back a sigh. When Leonie had first mentioned being the number one apprentice, Byleth had chose to not make a comment about it and now she was regretting not doing so.

"Catherine has a major crest so you should have plenty of opportunities to show off your technique," Linhardt said, and the professor finally gave in and sighed.

She gave them all a nod before walking over to her side of the "arena". Her students cheered for her and she knew that it was just them trying to motivate her, but it was having the opposite effect as it just reminded her of the massive crowd. Once again, she swallowed a sigh as she gave her students a smile and she felt a little better when Dimitri gave her a nod and a smile in return.

"You know, I missed you," her blonde opponent said, pulling her attention to Catherine. "I kept hoping to see you at the Faerghus' Founding Day tournament but you never showed."

"Life of a mercenary. Always on the move," Byleth said as she wasn't about to try and explain the political nonsense she went through to a relative stranger.

"Makes sense." Catherine spun her wooden sword around for a bit before snapping it in front of her. "I do hope you put up a good fight."

Taking a deep breath, Byleth tried to ground herself but the cheers made it almost impossible. How did she do that last time? The Founding Day tournament had a much bigger audience. Catherine looked so calm and confident and Byleth couldn't help but be jealous. A bell rang out and the duel began.

As soon as the sound of the bell ended, Catherine was on the move. Byleth could take some comfort in knowing that Catherine's style hadn't changed in all those years. It was still quick and aggressive, it reminded her of Glenn's, and she made a note to see if Felix would be interested in learning a similar style.

After a strong blow, Byleth put all those thoughts aside to focus on the match. Catherine kept her strikes centered around Byleth's torso, perfect for incapacitating an enemy when a strike would land. It was a good strategy, if not a little annoying to deal with. By keeping the blows so close it made countering difficult.

Blow after strong blow was becoming taxing and it just strengthen Byleth's hatred for Catherine's crest. Once upon a time, Byleth would be nearing her limit thanks to such strikes but she learned how to deal with them. By shifting her grip after each powerful strike she was able to mitigate the strain on her hands but that didn't mean she could last a long time by doing so; at least Catherine's strikes were nowhere near as devastating as her father's.

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked after the fifth time her crest activated. "The point of this duel was for you to show off that crest counter technique, right? My crest has given you plenty of opportunities. You should be honored. I don't think my crest likes anyone as much as it does you."

"Stupid crest," the former mercenary mumbled under her breath. She blocked one of Catherine's slashes with one for own, only for Catherine's return strike to have her crest activating again. The knight's smirk was annoying and Byleth did a wide horizontal slash to force Catherine to back up and give her some room.

The match only helped Byleth to discover another one of her technique's flaws, and that was from how dependent she was on being able to see the glow of the crest to know to prepare herself. Since Catherine's crest was most likely somewhere on her back, it meant that Byleth was unable to see the glow when it activated. Byleth didn't know this about herself until that battle but she had felt somewhat superior thanks to her technique and she only realized how foolish she was because her technique wasn't all that great unless given some very specific conditions.

Gritting her teeth, she put those negative thoughts behind her as they were not going to help her. There had to be another tell of a crest activating and she needed to find it soon before her arms gave out. Her eyes roamed over Catherine as the knight kept up her aggressive offensive.

When Byleth deflected a powerful thrust, she believed that she finally saw the tell she needed. It was an incredibly subtle one that she wasn't sure she would be able to use it in a proper fight but for that dule it would definitely work. Now the next issue was for her to figure out was how to counter when her opponent liked to do swift and close strikes.

The professor matched one of Catherine's strikes with her own. It didn't halt Catherine much, but it did allow Byleth some time to jump back a bit and dig her back foot in before Catherine was upon her again. With each strike Byleth was trying to figure out how to guide Catherine's blade away and she was terrible at the first few tries but after a few more she was able to slide her opponent's blade away from her body, and she found that that annoyed Catherine.

It wasn't long after that, did she see the tell, a small jolt along Catherine's arms, most likely from the burst of energy that her crest was providing. Byleth's blade collided with Catherine's and glided it upwards and away from her body. When the strength of the strike had dissipated, Byleth snapped her blade against Catherine's to shove it away, before quickly switching into a downward slash. Despite being clearly thrown off the knight still had enough of a reaction to jump back and avoid the first attack but Byleth didn't let up and stepped into Catherine's space and slammed her wooden sword against the knight's side. A curse slipped through Catherine's lips as she tried to bring her sword down, only for the professor to gracefully spin out of the way.

The area was filled with cheers and yells but Byleth tuned them out as it was finally her turn to go on the offensive. She didn't give Catherine a chance to recover before striking at Catherine's legs. The older woman grumbled a complaint as she awkwardly blocked the strike as well as stumbled back.

Catherine's style was all about trying to incapacitate her opponent with a powerful blow to the chest, it was difficult to take an opponent out that way as it made for easy blocks, but it was an honorable style. Byleth's style was far from honorable, as she went for easy targets to weaken her foe, like the arms and legs. She did spend the past six years fighting to survive. Sure, she knew how to fight honorably, she got many lessons on those types of fighting styles when she stayed at Castle Blaiddyd, but honor just made someone an easy target.

"You fight dirty," Catherine grumbled as she had to block another strike to her leg.

"I'm a mercenary," Byleth simply said as she rushed towards her opponent, making sure to not give Catherine a chance to breathe.

"Fair enough." Catherine threw a punch that Byleth had barely dodged by leaning far back and putting her assault on halt. With wide eyes, she looked at the knight, who was smirking. She had gotten the feeling that Catherine wasn't like most knights, but she wasn't expecting the knight to adapt so quickly. Catherine slammed her sword down and Byleth had to roll out of the way, giving Catherine some breathing room.

"I have been in more than my fair share of bar fights." Byleth could believe that. She was sure her father would get along well with Catherine. After the whole duel was over with, she was thinking of asking if Catherine wanted to go get some drinks. It had been a long while since she had drunk any of the hard stuff and Catherine seemed like a great drinking partner.

With her assault broken, she was back on being on the defensive as Catherine kept up with her aggressive slashes but threw in some punches to keep Byleth off guard. The sword and fist style were a bit awkward, but it seemed to be what Felix had been trying to aim for so Byleth made sure to make a note of it.

Now that Byleth had her counter down, Catherine's crest was no longer a problem and it was clearly an issue for the knight. The knight would prove as a clear example to her students, with crests, to no rely on them, and she hoped that Felix would learn that by watching the fight. Despite having the counter, the powerful blows were starting to take their toll on her arms, and she knew that she would have to end the match soon.

Despite the ache in her arms, she was feeling lighter. In the battle she didn't have to worry about what she did to upset Dimitri or to remember about a lost friendship; she could just focus on clashing blades. Catherine was also much better for the professor to release all of her pent-up frustrations on than some training dummy. She would seek out the knight for future matches.

The more their swords clashed the more relief Byleth felt. A smile grew on her face and Catherine matched it. Everything was going great until she was given an ugly reminder.

Upon a downward slash, the thing that Byleth had all but forgotten about reared its wretched head, her crest had activated. The color drained from her face as she remained frozen in place, as if her crest's ability were also affecting her as well. Her thoughts were completely focused on her crest and nothing else.

"Hey! Did your crest affect you too or what?" Catherine yelled, snapping Byleth out of it, just in time to throw up her sword for a block. Between all the blows from Catherine's crest and her own, the strain on Byleth's training sword had been too much and it shattered, failing to stop the blonde's sword from connecting to Byleth's face.

With the added power from the Catherine's crest and Byleth's broken stance the professor was knocked back and landed on the ground. She didn't move, despite all the gasps and yells of her name. None of them reached her as she stared up at the sky in horror. Her mind was only filled with one thought, her crest activated in front of everyone!

"Byleth, are you okay?" Catherine shouted but Byleth didn't acknowledge her, but she was vaguely aware of being forced to sit up. "Jeez, it looks like I broke your nose. Sorry, about that."

Now sitting up, the archbishop came into view. There was such a satisfied expression on her face and Byleth couldn't breathe. Her mind screamed out for her father, but he wasn't there, away on a mission; and so, she was all alone.

"Excuse me, but may I speak with Professor Byleth?" asked the only voice that could pierce through Byleth's haze, Dimitri's. She finally tore her eyes away from the archbishop to look at him and his blue eyes managed to ground her a little.

"I'm sorry but I think Professor Byleth might have suffered a head injury so I should take her to the infirmary," Professor Manuela said and it was only then that Byleth was aware that the older woman was kneeling next to her.

Byleth didn't listen to a thing Professor Manuela said as she got up. She almost reached out to grab Dimitri when she caught a glimpse of Tomas. Tomas almost had a look of disgust on his face and that sent a shiver down her spine. When Dimitri gave a small gesture to follow, she had nearly latched onto him but had remained aware of enough to not grab hold of him, and completely ignored everything Professor Manuela was saying.

Once they were inside the safety of the Blue Lions' classroom, she broke down. She dropped to her knees and struggled to breathe. Trying to block the outside world, she used her hands to cover her face and tune everything out. The archbishop's and Tomas' faces flashed before her mind and she just wanted to run away but knew that she was completely unable to do so. She shrunk into herself as if it would hide her better. She needed to leave. She wasn't safe. Those thoughts ran wild in her mind and she just wanted her father.

Suddenly, she was shoved against something and she started to push against it, only for her to be pressed more against it. "Byleth, it is okay," Dimitri's soft voice whispered into her ear and it was then that she realized that she was in his arms. "You are safe. I will not allow any harm to befall upon you." She gave in and squeezed him as hard as she could as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I am sure it will be alright," Sylvain's voice next pierced her haze. She jolted at the sound of his voice, but Dimitri still kept his grip on her. Still in the embrace she struggled a bit to look around and saw that the rest of her friends were there, including Claude.

"We will protect you!" Ingrid said and from behind her both Felix and Dedue gave the professor a firm nod.

"We have your back By!" Claude said and patted her head. "You can count on us."

Her gaze blurred with her unshed tears and she gave them all a firm nod before going back to hiding her face in Dimitri's shoulder. With Sothis' own calming words of comfort and Dimitri rubbing circles on her back, she was finally at peace, but she didn't release Dimitri just yet. She took comfort in knowing that he wasn't going to push her away.

After a few seconds, she finally stopped squeezing him and he let her go but he didn't move away. She looked into his eyes and he was so clearly worried about her that she couldn't help but be a little happy. She gave him a small nod before getting onto her feet and he followed her example.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked. Compared to earlier she was, but overall, not so much. She gave him a small smile and a nod; she didn't want everyone to worry about her more than they already did.

"I am sure there is nothing for you to worry about now that the church knows about your crest," Claude said, and her little smile became strained. She wanted to believe Claude but the satisfied expression that the archbishop had only worried her more. Her crest proved something to the archbishop, and she didn't know what and that only unsettled her more.

"You are incredible By!" Sylvain shouted in a jovial tone. "You went head to head with Thunderstrike Catherine and you would have won too, if it was not for that little issue." It was clear that he was trying to lighten the mood and for everyone's sake, so she tried to help.

"Well I was taught by the best," she said in a joyful tone that she hoped didn't sound too fake. With a fake smile that she had perfected the last few days, she hoped that everyone could relax, and it seemed like it was working.

There was a slight grip on her hand and when she looked down at it, she saw that Dimitri was holding it. Her gaze snapped to his face and the look he was giving her had her wondering if he could see right through her. Why was he doing that? Wasn't he avoiding her? Why was he trying to tear down her façade? Her body began to tremble, and it felt like there was a lump in the back of her throat and he gave her hand a small squeeze and she felt like she was going to fall apart.

A knock on the door was the only thing that helped to keep her together. Dimitri let go of her hand and stepped back and she swallowed the sob that wanted to break free. Catherine stepped inside and gave everyone a look before settling on Byleth.

"Is the little chat over yet?" the knight asked and Byleth nodded. "Good, you need to speak with Lady Rhea." Byleth felt sick to her stomach but she did her best to not reflect it. She gave her friends a nod before walking out but stopped when Catherine didn't follow. "Oh, Prince Dimitri would you be able to gather the rest of the Blue Lions and wait for Byleth's return? It will make it easier for her to discuss your guys' next mission."

When Dimitri nodded yes, Catherine began to guide Byleth away. They walked in silence, which was perfect for the professor, who was in no mood to talk. Byleth didn't get that peace for long though.

"So, what's up with your crest?" Catherine asked, and Byleth just looked at the knight as she wasn't sure what to say. "Does it affect you too or something? Seems only fair for you to have some kind repercussion for how powerful it is."

"What do you mean? My crest isn't that powerful." Sure, the power to halt an opponent during combat can be a truly powerful thing but her crest wasn't the only one that possessed such a power.

"Oh yes, it is! I never head of a crest that possessed two abilities!"

Byleth stopped dead in her tracks to stare at the knight, like she had grown two heads. "What are you talking about? My crest just freezes opponents for a bit, just like a normal Crest of Cichol."

"Oh no, it's not." Catherine stopped to stare at Byleth. "I fought against a major Crest of Cichol enough times to know that your crest isn't it." Byleth stared at the other woman with wide eyes. "The Crest of Cichol only freezes its opponents. Your crest does that as well as strengthen the power behind your blow." Not a thought formed in Byleth's mind so she could only stare. "Not to mention it does not glow anywhere near as bright as your does."

Byleth's mouth hung open but no words came to her. Slowly her gaze drifted away to stare at her chest as if she could see her crest beneath her clothing. Neither her father nor Glenn ever mentioned feeling two different effects from her crest. She remembered Cornelia's words about there being more to her crest, but did it really have to awaken to another power? Why did she have to posses that crest? Why couldn't it be normal? Tomas flashed before her mind and she wondered if she would be attacked again. She wished her father were there, but he wasn't, and she was feeling so alone again.

Snapping fingers in front of her face, broke the professor out of her thoughts. Her eyes focused on the fingers for a seconds before looking at their owner, Catherine. The knight gave her a look for a moment before standing straight.

"You with me now?" Byleth blinked but nodded as she didn't know what else to do. "Good. Do you know what your crest is?" She shook her head no. "I had a feeling. You should go ask Hannenman about it. He will probably know something." She nodded and the two began walking again.

Answers should be the thing that Byleth wanted most and yet she was afraid of those very answers. Ignorant bliss was what she wanted but she didn't know if such a thing was still possible. People had been attacking her because of her crest and the very last person, who should have known about it, found out so was it probably impossible for her to return a time of innocence? Was she capable of going back to a life of denial? Was it fair for her to live a life as if she didn't posses a crest, while Sylvain couldn't? She longed for a life, where things were so much easier.

Before she knew it, the two women were standing in front of the doors that lead to the reception hall. Byleth really didn't want to enter. Catherine turned to her and Byleth clung to the little distraction.

"I need to go check on a few things for a bit," Catherine said and Byleth's heart dropped but she kept up her fake little smile. She really didn't want to face the archbishop alone. "Once I know that everything is in order, I will be joining you in a bit."

Byleth stared at the door before her, frozen in place. Sothis kind words were nice but the professor wanted nothing more than a physical presence by her side. She glanced to her right to see the guard, who smiles at her innocently, completely unaware of her inner turmoil. Resigning to her fate, she took a deep breath and entered the hall.

At the end of the hall she spotted both the archbishop and Seteth and she felt a bit better to see the advisor. That comfort was quickly lost when she saw the overly pleased look on the archbishop's face. She wanted to run away, far away, and yet she kept walking forward.

"Your duel with Catherine was a marvelous one," the archbishop said and Byleth stayed silent, but she did nod her head a little. "I must admit, I am surprised to see how well you did against one of our best knights, but I guess I should not be too surprise given who your father is." Again, she gave a silent nod. "But I amazed to discover that you possess a crest and it must be a major one too, given that glow." The archbishop's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Byleth felt so small and weak. "Why did you never share such information, with us?"

Byleth remained quiet for a few more seconds. She was pleased to discover that Seteth was giving the head of the church a questionable look, she was beginning to like Seteth more and more. When the archbishop prompted her to speak, she knew she could no longer remain quiet.

"When I was younger, I was attacked by some men because of my crest," Byleth carefully explained to avoid any suspicion or distrust being placed on her father. The smile left the archbishop's face and Byleth didn't know what to make of that. "Ever since then, I have kept my crest a secret. I am sorry for lying to you."

The small smile returned to the archbishop's face as she lightly shook her head. "That is alright, my child, I understand. But I wish for you to know that you are safe here at Garreg Mach."

"…Yes, thank you."

The archbishop returned to her usual air but Byleth didn't feel any better. Seteth seemed uncomfortable with her vague explanation but she didn't get the feeling that it was because of the vagueness and for that she was grateful. He was proving to be a support that she didn't know she needed.

"Let us begin with why I have called you here, shall we." Byleth gave the older woman a nod. "I have a new mission for your students."

"We have received reports that Lord Lonato has rallied his troops against the Holy Church of Seiros," Seteth said.

The name Lord Lonato sounded so familiar to her but she couldn't recall where she heard it. "That is the name of Ashe's adoptive father," Sothis explained and her tone lacked its normal playfulness. The color left Byleth's face as she started ahead.

"Professor are you alright?"

"Oh yes, sorry that name sounded familiar and I was just trying to place it." She started to have a sickening feeling.

Seteth shook his head but the archbishop explained with no signs of annoyance, "Lord Lonato is a minor lord of the Kingdom. He has been showing hostility towards the church for some time now." Byleth pressed her lips together.

"A vanguard unit from the Knights of Seiros is already on its way to his stronghold, Castle Gaspard," Seteth returned to explaining and the more news that was shared only made her feel sicker. "Lord Lonato's army is nothing compared to the Knights. It is possible that the rebellion has already been suppressed."

"Even so," the archbishop took charge again, "I would like for your class to travel with the Knights' rear guard to deal with the aftermath."

The sickening she had felt was starting to give away to a new feeling, a far more intense one. "War zones are unpredictable," Seteth began again, "we do not expect you will have cause to battle but be prepared for the worse."

"Can I refuse?" Byleth asked and she struggled to keep her tone neutral.

"Excuse me?"

"This mission is far to advance for children." By emphasizing the word children, she had hoped to convey just a small fraction of her anger, without her having to actually express it.

"We went over this last month, coddling your students will do them no good."

"They barely handled bandits and now you want to send them to a war zone! The other classes haven't done anything as nearly as dangerous as my class has!"

"That is because I believe in your students and your teaching."

"I've only been teaching them for two months! I refused to send my students into a war! I haven't even fought in a war!"

The air in the reception hall shifted but Byleth refused to let it bother her. The smile left the archbishop's face as she stared down the younger woman. Byleth wasn't daunted and she glared back.

"Your students are going and that is final." Byleth opened her mouth to object, only to have the archbishop speak over her. "This rebellion is from a minor lord from the Kingdom and since your students are the future leaders of the Kingdom, they must learn what it means to cross the church."

"What?"

The archbishop looked down at Byleth, whose fists were balled so tightly. "They must learn their place."

This was utter madness! This was a church, not a country! Now she understood what her father meant, the archbishop was crazy and dangerous. She looked to Seteth for support, but he didn't seem all that bothered with what was being suggestions. She felt disgusted for even thinking that he was someone she could trust.

She once again opened her mouth to speak, only for Sothis to stop her. "Byleth, I understand where you are coming from, but it might be best that you go with what she is planning," Sothis said. The professor balled her fists so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. "She is an enemy you do not want to make."

She gritted her teeth and bit back her response, but she was still visibly tense. "Ashe-"

"He will be going."

She gave the archbishop her fiercest glare and her nails now dug into her palm. Sothis words would no longer reach her. "You want him to fight against his adoptive father?!"

"He must prove his loyalty."

"Prove his loyalty?! He's a child!"

"The son of a traitor." The archbishop narrowed her eyes into an icy glare.

Byleth's throat burned and it felt like a lump formed in her throat. She started to take several deep breaths as she glared at the other woman. Sothis once again tried to reach out to her but she couldn't hear the girl over the blood rushing in her ears.

"Ashe is a sweet, sixteen-year-old boy," Byleth said slowly and calmly. "He is a devout believer of the goddess, who offers up his prayers every day. He wants to be a chivalrous knight that would not dare to hurt anyone." Before the bandit mission last moon, she didn't event think he had what it would take to become a knight because of how kindhearted he was. "He is a sweet boy that only wants to help everyone he can."

"He either proves his loyalty on the battlefield or he can sit in a dungeon until everything is taking care of."

Byleth saw red and lunged forward but stopped when she realized something was off. Neither the vile woman nor heartless advisor reacted to anything, it was almost as if they were frozen. Slowly she turned around to see Sothis scowling down at her from upon her throne and soon they were surrounded by the darkness.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sothis asked, in a tone that Byleth didn't think she was deserving of. "Honestly, what did you think you were doing lunging at the archbishop like that?" Byleth gritted her teeth as she didn't really have an answer to that. She didn't realize what she was doing until Sothis stopped her. She had never lost control like that before. She was only going to get herself killed if she couldn't control herself.

Sighing as loudly as she could Sothis collapsed against her throne. "I still have not heard a thank you for saving your ass."

"Thank you," Byleth said and even bowed. "I have never lost control like that before. I do not know what came over me."

Sothis eyed her for a moment. "I do not blame you, that woman is infuriating but," she paused to sit up properly, "you will not be able to help anyone if you make the archbishop your enemy." The former mercenary scowled at the floor but remained quiet.

"Look it is clear that that woman is determined to send your students out on this mission with or without you. It will be better for your students if you are there with them, do you understand?" A quiet curse spilled from Byleth's lips, but she nodded anyways. "Pretend to be the good, little professor so that you can protect your students. They are going to needed you, especially Ashe."

Her nails dug into her palms so hard that she could feel the warmth of blood on her fingers. Reluctantly, Byleth nodded yes and got ready as Sothis returned time to its normal flow. The archbishop's icy stare bore down on Byleth but she didn't glare back, no matter how much she wanted too.

"Do we still have a problem?" the archbishop asked in the tone that Byleth believed fitted her. Unable to trust her voice the former mercenary just shook her head. "Good." The archbishop began to relax a little and she just wanted to spit at the older woman for doing such a thing.

The doors to the reception hall were opened and Catherine walked in. She walked to the group with a little pep in her step that didn't suit the mood. Byleth's eyes widen as she put two and two together and she wanted to laugh at thinking at how she wanted to get closer to the knight. The church really knew how to lower her guard and play her like the fool she was. She glared at the knight, until Sothis reminded her to stop that and so she stared at the floor instead.

"I'm sorry for being late," Catherine said, when she stood next to Byleth. "I was making sure everything was ready for us to leave tomorrow."

"Catherine will be leading the knights whom you will be accompanying," The archbishop said as she easily switched to a lighter tone, and Byleth had to force herself to not scoff at it.

"I look forward to working with you." Biting the inside of her check, Byleth just nodded as she still didn't trust her voice. The rest of the briefing was explained without her uttering a single a word. As soon as the briefing was over, she left the reception hall without sparing any of them a single glance.

Byleth returned to her classroom with a boiling rage still deep within her. She chewed on her bottom lip until it bled as she thought it was best that she didn't speak to anyone. Everyone she passed by were offering her words of praise and even though they were all innocent she wanted nothing more to do than scream out at everyone and everything.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the doors to her classroom. Her students had been chatting happily and she just felt sick to her stomach. They all cheerfully ran up to her, so eager to hear about their next mission. She hung her head and bit her lip until it bled again.

"Professor?" Annette was the first to call for her. "Is something wrong?"

"Our next mission is to suppress a rebellion in the Kingdom," Byleth said. She lifted her head and discovered that all the cheer was gone. She looked at all of her students before her gaze settled on Ashe, she didn't want to say the next part but knew she had to as it would be better for him to hear it from her and not someone from the church. "The leader of the rebellion is Lord Lonato…"

"No!" Ashe screamed and he ran up to her. "He wouldn't do such a thing!" She shut her eyes tightly as she couldn't bring herself to look at anyone. "Professor, he wouldn't! Lord Lonato is a good man!" She pulled him in for a tight embrace, and he clung to her chanting over and over that Lord Lonato was a good man.

* * *

A/N: I have some thing I wish to ask you, my lovely readers. I have been going back and fixing some of my grammar mistakes in past chapters and I recently fixed up chapter 5, where Byleth and Glenn have a duel. In that duel I was careful to explain where the swords were and how each were striking. It's a lot more detailed than this duel with Catherine.

I didn't describe swords strikes so much in this duel because I am trying to convey a sense that Byleth has gotten a lot more skilled that she doesn't need to worry so much about how Catherine is striking and such, but I am worried that maybe this duel wasn't that interesting to read because of its lack of detail. So, what I would like to ask you all is in future duels/battles would you guys like me to put more of emphasizes on sword strikes? Or were you guys able to get a clear enough picture with the duel from this chapter?

As for the other story that I mentioned in the last chapter, I realized that I had a lot of moments that I wanted to write for that story but not an actually plot, so until I figured that out I won't write that story.

Lastly, as I mentioned in the beginning of this chapter that I have two papers due back to back, so expect a delay for the next chapter.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: So, one of my papers got pushed back and after I finished one I thought I would take a break from doing my homework to just write the beginning of this chapter and… two days later this chapter was completed. I am a terrible student. Do not be like me.

I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Thirtieth of the Garland Moon:**

If the archbishop didn't already tell Catherine about Byleth was opposed to the mission, she certainly discovered it on the march to Castle Gaspard. Byleth had stayed protectively close to her students, like a lioness protecting her cubs; she was especially protective of Ashe. Catherine wasn't exactly thrilled to be working with a hostile person, especially a dangerously skilled one, but Byleth remained quiet and even helped with setting up camp for the knights each night. Still Catherine couldn't help but feel relieved to have Thunderbrand in her possession. She knew Byleth had been holding back during their duel after she discovered that the former mercenary liked to fight with a magic based sword style, Catherine couldn't help but feel like she was lacking in some regards, since she would have lost that duel.

"It seems we are in luck," Catherine said as she approached Byleth. At Lady Rhea's request, she was to stay close to the fierce woman. Lady Rhea had asked her to protect Byleth, but Catherine found herself sticking close to the younger woman just to keep an eye on Byleth, more for her own safety, instead. Catherine was sure that Byleth didn't need her for protection at all, that the once mercenary was more than capable of defending herself and others, but still it was an order from Lady Rhea and she was going to carrying it out.

Byleth turned her sharp gaze onto the knight, and Catherine struggled to not flinch under the intense look. Catherine might have been a knight for several years, but it was clear to her that Byleth had more battle experience. The older woman couldn't help but feel like she was the one in need of protection when she felt like Byleth could see right through her. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the former mercenary tore her eyes away to go back to surveying the area.

"Are we?" Byleth mumbled so quietly that Catherine almost missed it. Catherine wasn't sure what to make of that question. Suddenly, Byleth's gaze settled in the direction of where Castle Gaspard would be but when Catherine looked, she saw nothing but fog. "The knights should be on alert."

"Why? We are just the clean up crew. Your students probably won't have to do anything."

"Something doesn't feel right." Byleth said no more on the matter and left for her students.

Catherine looked back in the direction that Byleth had been looking in earlier, but nothing still seemed out of the ordinary. She glanced at the professor, who was preparing her students. Pressing her lips together, she walked over to her knights. She may have doubts, but it wouldn't hurt to have the knights on guard.

Just as she reached her squadron one of the scouts arrived. "Report!" the scout yelled nearly out of breath. He did not wait for her permission before speaking again, "the enemy is approaching! They can't be avoided."

"What?" Catherine muttered. She looked at Byleth, who was already making her way over.

"Their numbers are far greater than we predicted. They used the fog to slip past the knights' perimeter."

"Damnit!" Her gaze drifted over to Byleth, who seemed to be lost in thought. "What is it?"

"The fog…," the professor mumbled under her breath. Her eyes snapped forward to make eye contact with Catherine. From the gaze, Catherine could tell that Byleth was no stranger to being ambushed. It was the gaze of a fierce warrior and Catherine's body twitched with the desire to face the warrior at her best.

"The knights need to fall into a close formation, it will be easier to defend each other from hidden enemies that way. But still maintain some form of distance as we don't know what the enemy has planned. We can't afford to have a Bolganone spell or something of the likes taking out several people at once." After sharing her plan, Byleth walked back to her students, not sparing the knights another glance.

The knights turned the gazes on Catherine, but Catherine had been too busy watching Byleth walk away. The professor seemed like a different person, compared to how timid the woman had been before their duel. It was so clear that she was uncomfortable with being the center of attention and yet she could easily give orders as if it were nothing. The more Catherine saw Byleth, the more impress she became. Her gaze shifted over to her knights that were watching her. "You heard the lady!" With firm nods the knights quickly got in formation, while Catherine gave one final look at the professor.

The students were naturally terrified but whatever their professor said calmed them, and Catherine couldn't help but be impressed at how much respect and trust the professor garnered. Orders were given out and the students dispersed to their assign groups. Not once, from what Catherine could tell, did Byleth ever show a show a sign of concern; she remained steadfast and calm, almost like she knew the ambush would happen; and that almost seemed frightening but she realized that calmness had managed to keep her calm as well. Before turning to join her knights, Catherine couldn't help but think how terrifying an opponent Byleth would be to face in war.

Byleth watched her students get ready to fight in a war that they shouldn't be involved in. Dimitri, Felix, Ingrid, and Annette were the main unit, while Sylvain, Dedue, and Mercedes made up a smaller unit that would focus on protecting the left flank. Because of Ashe's demand to speak with Lord Lonato, he was paired up with Byleth and she couldn't shake the feeling that that was going to be a poor decision on her part.

If Lord Lonato was leading this ambush, then getting to him would be incredibly difficult. Under normal circumstances, she would be completely against doing something so foolish, but he had begged her the night before to let him try and talk to Lord Lonato, and she discovered that she was weak to tears. Agreeing to take him to Lord Lonato had become even more idiotic idea thanks to the fog that just didn't seem right to her.

It was already noon by the time they reached Castle Gaspard, so it was too late for fog this thick to be around, especially when it didn't rain during the night. There was also the issue that everyone claimed that the fog was too thick to see to far ahead and yet she had no problem seeing; it was almost like it wasn't there for her. And then there was the magic in the air that Sothis was sensing. She never heard of a magic spell creating fog but then again, besides healing spells, Byleth never learned or bothered looking into utility spells.

"Check your necklace," Sothis said. "Maybe the enhancement on it is preventing the fog from obscuring your sights?" Sure enough, the necklace was glowing. "Well that confirms that this fog is not natural." The confirmation didn't make her feel any better.

She looked at the knights and her students. The knights were calm and what she would hope from trained soldiers, but her students were clearly a different story. All of them were on edge that she hoped would not get the better of them; but she did like how Felix, in his own awkward way, tried to comfort Annette. She wished she knew how to calm them better, to put their fears to rest but she was not so foolish as to think that she could do such a thing. Only through constant battles can such anxiety at the start of battle be beaten out of someone and that thought didn't sit well with her.

"Byleth!" Sothis screamed and Byleth's head flew in the direction she was imagining Sothis to be pointing in. The blood drained from her face as she saw a row of archers lined up and she couldn't believe she let them go undetected when the magic was having such little effect on her.

Byleth was barely able to scream out a warning before arrows rain downed on them. She shoved Ashe behind her as she used her body to shield him and she was struck with a few arrows in the process. Screams filled the area as panicked raced through their little army. She looked back to see her students to see that both Ingrid and Annette had been pierced in their legs but Dimitri had taken the blunt of the attack in an attempt to protect them both, while Dedue had several arrows in his back as he shielded Mercedes. He was lying on top of her, unmoving, and it felt like the air had been knocked out of Byleth's lungs as she focused on Dedue.

Before she could even think to scream out for Sothis to rewind time, it was already in the process of being done for. She was back to watching her students before the chaos erupted. Her gaze had settled on Dedue for a moment, basking in the fact that he was alive, and yet the imagine of his death and the fear she felt didn't go away. She had almost forgotten about the enemy until Sothis reminded her. She turned to look at the field and she could now see the archers dashing from the covers of the trees. She pulled Ashe behind her without any explanation.

"Everyone fall back!" Her voice echoed loudly in the field before the battle could begin. "Those with shields and heavy armor to the front and raise your shields high." Her students did that without hesitation, but the knights remained in place, challenging her. "Do it now!" The edge in her voice was so strong that she didn't even believe that she was capable of producing it.

The knights scrambled together after Catherine ordered them too, they made it just in time for the volley of arrows to rain down on everyone. There had been a few casualties on the Knights' end and both Dimitri and Dedue was still hit, but no one died that time.

"Faster and more agile units to the front!" This time the knights didn't hesitate as they quickly changed their positions. From the thickets of the tree she could see the enemy begin to appear and head towards them with their weapons drawn. "The enemy is approaching. Everyone brace yourselves!"

Her eyes scanned the battlefield. There was a lot of people, but it was clear that most of them lacked proper training with their clumsy stances, but she didn't have time to dwell on that thought for too long. There had to be someone controlling the fog spell and she needed to get rid of that person as soon as possible.

With some help from Sothis she was finally able to locate the mage, who was hidden amongst a small grove of trees in the middle of the battlefield. She wasn't that far from the supposed target but there were several people that stood in her way, not to mention the archers. It was foolish but the mage had to be dealt with and she was the only one who would be able to do it quickly. With a quick order to join Dimitri's unit to Ashe, she rushed in with no warning to anyone else. Sothis screamed at Byleth for her idiocy but she didn't care; to her the sooner the battle was over, the sooner her students would be safe.

Ignoring all the shouts of her name she rushed in. Just as she had feared the people, they faced were not knights but simple peasants that possessed no real challenge to her as she easily slipped past them or disposed of them. The fact that they were facing possible, innocent townsfolks did not sit well with her, and she knew that it would definitely not sit well with her students. Was Lord Lonato forcing them to fight? Was the church actual the savior in all this madness? No, she wouldn't allow herself to entertain those thoughts in that moment. Scattered thoughts would only get her killed in the heat of battle, and yet she could not shake the fear of what possibly waited her and Ashe at the end of this battlefield.

Just before she reached the grove she ran into a real knight of Gaspard, one she recognized. He was a knight that she had often seen participating in the Faerghus' Founding Day tournament, she had often imagined facing him, but she never imagined it would be like this. Shoving her feelings aside, she rushed forward to face the knight.

She slammed her sword down on the knight's shield and he brushed her off by pushing her to the side. She knew she had lacked the power to overwhelm him like Glenn did in his last tournament. Her feet slide across the ground, and before she a chance to brace herself he was already swinging his sword at her neck. With a quick roll she managed to not only avoid the attack but also got behind the knight, but he didn't allow her to take advantage of his unguarded back as she swung his shield wide behind him and forced her to back up some more.

The knight stood proudly before her and in the tournament, he would have proven to be a worthy opponent, but this wasn't the tournament and he wasn't her priority. Between her roll and his distancing maneuver she was now closer to her destination. The knight slammed the blunt end of his sword against his shield in an attempt to goad her into battle, but she didn't care, as honor meant nothing to her.

Sparing him no more of her attention, she dashed into the trees, ignoring the knight's yell. Hidden amongst the trees was a lone mage and she almost couldn't believe that one person had been capable of such a feat but Sothis confirmed that that one person was indeed the source of the fog. Screaming out the mage launched a fire spell at her, but the spell proved ineffective against her enchantment. Before she could run her blade through the defenseless mage, an arrow flew past her head, forcing her back.

One archer had joined the fray and she began to channel magic into her left hand to deal with the new enemy. Just as she was about to dash forward the knight rushed in and would have tackled her to the ground if she hadn't managed to dig her feet in right before the impact. In a position of being unable to strike with her sword she released her stored thunder spell on the knight's shield, shocking them both. The knight finally gave in allowing her to stumble back, only for an arrow to narrowly miss piercing her in the head. She couldn't tell if the archer was a knight or not, but the archer was skilled at the very least.

In the middle of the confusion the mage tried to slip away, only for an arrow to lodge itself into the mage's back and he fell to the floor. The source of the arrow came from Ashe, and she wanted to yell at him but there was no time for that as the knight tried to slash her across her chest and she barely managed to block the strike. An arrow clanged helpless off the knight's armor and the knight had enough battle sense to not pay it any attention. He put his weight into his blade and managed to pin her against the tree.

Ashe called out for her and she ignored him, only for his next scream to pierce her soul. Completely forgetting about the knight, she tore her eyes away from him to see Ashe with a blade protruding through his chest. Her voice was lost to the frozen time as Sothis appeared before her.

"We can save him," Sothis said and Byleth nearly collapsed in relief at that. "You need to get to the enemy before he gets to Ashe, there is no one nearby that you can rely on."

It took Byleth a few seconds to register what Sothis said, and then she gave the mysterious girl a nod just as she felt the strange magic that rewound time. An arrow clanged against the knight's armor and she instantly knew that she didn't have much time. Her body felt heavy despite not feeling that way before, but she ignored it as she used the tree for support. She placed her weight against it so that she could plant her feet against the knight's chest and kicked off of him. He fell with a loud groan, but she spared him no more attention as she rushed towards Ashe, already channeling magic into her left hand.

She barely managed to pull Ashe aside right when the new opponent thrusted his blade forward and only connected with empty air that time. While her student managed to be saved from harm, she wasn't so lucky as an arrow pierced her right shoulder. Three opponents were more than what Byleth felt comfortable fighting against in such a close enclosure under normal conditions but having to defend Ashe made it even less ideal.

She began to shove Ashe towards the only direction not blocked, only for Sothis to let her in on an annoying fact, the mage wasn't dead. With the help from the archer the mage was again on his feet and the knight stood protectively in front of the both of them. She swore loudly as she realized she wasn't going to have an easy time.

The mage needed to die; she had been taking too long. The longer the mage lived the greater the danger everyone would be in. She didn't nearly have enough energy channeled to release a proper Bolganone spell but she had enough for an Aura spell, even if she hadn't quite mastered it yet but she was sure that she wouldn't have to suffer that severe of a consequence.

Shoving Ashe behind her, she released the Aura spell, and something didn't feel right to her, but she ignored it as she didn't have the luxury of worrying about it. A blinding light filled the area, and along with it the two people that had been in the spell's proximity, the mage and the archer, no longer stood. Sothis confirmed that the mage was killed but her left arm became numb. She had been expecting consequences, but this was too much. She might not have mastered Aura yet but every time she had used it in the past had only resulted in tiring her out a bit or using more magic than was necessary. Numbing her entire left arm, made no sense, unless it had something to do with the strange heaviness of her body.

She had tried to close her left hand only for the strong prickliness she felt make it quite a challenge. A curse slipped from her lips as she realized that she would not be able to use her left arm. She hoped that she wouldn't come to regret casting Aura, but she already knew that she would.

Roaring out in anger the two remaining men charged at her. She pushed Ashe away, despite his cry of protest, as she raised her sword with her good arm. With her sword raised she came to the horrible realization that she wouldn't be able to use magic now, unless she dropped her sword to free up her right hand. Digging her feet in, she prepared for the worse as she knew she wouldn't have enough strength in one arm to properly handle the knight's heavy blows.

A loud battle cry rang out in the area as Catherine charged in with her Hero Relic in hand. With a terrifying ease and speed, she took out the weaker fighter, while the knight backed up to raise his shield. Byleth's eyes were locked on Thunderbrand, it seemed to reverberate a strange pulse that she felt in her core and she could tell that Sothis felt it too.

"You!" the knight yelled out in a rage that seemed to come out of nowhere as he didn't even bat an eye at the fall of his comrade. "I will bring your head to Lord Lonato! It is the least I can do for Lord Christophe!" Catherine and Ashe stiffened, but Catherine didn't falter for long.

Tucking in Thunderbrand Catherine rushed towards the man at an inhuman speed. Byleth knew that Hero Relics could amplify their users' abilities, but she didn't realize just by how much. She joked with Sylvain about defeating the Lance of Ruin but now that she had glimpsed at what a Hero Relic could really do, she now truly understood how terrifying weapons they were. The knight was killed in a matter of seconds as Thunderbrand sliced through his armor as if it was butter.

A beat was passed between everyone as Catherine stared down at the knight with an unreadable expression and Byleth finally found a moment to rest by leaning against the tree, only for her shoulder to remind her of the arrow in it. She almost dropped to her knees but when she felt Ashe at her side, she fought against her exhaustion to stand tall for his sake.

"I'm guessing you had something to do with the fog clearing?" Catherine asked, once she tore her eyes away from the knight and began walking towards Byleth.

"Yes, I could tell that the fog was unnatural," Byleth explained as she tried to maneuver her left arm out of Catherine's sights, even though the knight wouldn't be able to tell that there was anything wrong with it at just a glance. "I was able to discover where the mage was and-"

"And you should have told us!" Byleth certainly wasn't expecting to be receiving a lecture and from Catherine of all people and in the middle of a battle, no less. "That was incredibly foolish to rush in alone."

"I…did not believe anyone could keep up." She could feel Sothis' judgmental glare and see Catherine's very visible one.

"What utter nonsense! You should know better!" She had no right to argue against that. Her father had told her that she was reckless in battle, but this little stunt was far greater than anything she had ever done before. "What did you plan to do behind enemy's lines once you killed the mage? Just hope that you wouldn't get surrounded and that they would just let you go?"

"I knew it would cause chaos in our enemy's ranks and I was going to use that as an opportunity to escape." The lie spilled easily from her lips that she was a bit surprised at herself.

"Well, didn't look like that was going to happen." Catherine narrowed her gaze.

"Yes…" Byleth glanced at Ashe, who was trying to shrink into himself. "I had an unforeseen problem."

Catherine sighed and Byleth believed that was earned. "Please tell me you at least brought something to take care of that arrow in your shoulder or am I going to have to drag you to healer?"

"No, I brought stuff. I am always well equipped." Catherine didn't seem convince and Byleth couldn't blame her for that. The professor pulled out a vulnerary and some bandages and Catherine finally relaxed a little.

"Do you need help treating your wound?"

"I should be able to manage and if not, I taught my students how to dress wounds so Ashe should be able to help." The boy vigorously nodded his head.

"Fine. I'm going to head back out into battle. I assigned your students to take care of the rear and I want you and Ashe to join them when you are done with your wound alright." Byleth nodded yes and Catherine left the little enclosure but not before giving Byleth one final look.

A silence settled over the remaining two people. A sigh escaped her as she wasn't sure how to go about this. She was already finding lecturing hard but in the middle of battle seemed a bit idiotic but still necessary as her own lecture did help to knock some sense into her.

She turned to face Ashe, but he spoke before she could. "I'm sorry! I know what I did was incredibly foolish, but I got scared that you were going to see Lonato without me!" Ashe said that all in one breath and she was a bit impressed, but he kept his gaze on the floor. Sighing, she got down on her knees so that he would look at her without her having to force him. Looking into his pale green eyes, she felt the last bit of her annoyance leave her, she wondered if this was how her father often felt when having to dealing with her recklessness.

"Do you not trust me?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I do! But I…" She could see the tears piling up at the corner of his eyes as he looked away from her. He had been so strong on their march over but now that they were in battle the cracks began to form and she couldn't blame him. She rubbed his head and his gaze returned to her.

"Ashe, I promise you I will take you to see Lord Lonato if he's in this battle." Sniffling a little he nodded yes. "But I still need you to understand what you did was incredibly dangerous, okay?" He nodded, and she wanted to laugh at herself for being a hypocritic.

Treating her shoulder had been a bit difficult. The prickliness of the vulnerary's effects was usually mild, but it felt more potent and she just had no idea what was wrong with her body. Her shoulder felt naturally stiff as one would expect from a bandaged shoulder and she feared that she wouldn't be able to rely on her right arm despite it being the only good arm left.

Seeing Lord Lonato should have been out of the question by that time. She wouldn't be able to properly defend herself, let alone also protect Ashe, but when she looked at the boy, she felt the strongest desire to try and help him. She didn't feel right, didn't feel like herself at all. So many conflicting desires and emotions were running through her and that was all she needed to know that she shouldn't be on the frontline and yet she will be forever the biggest fool she ever knew.

Reluctantly she began to lead him out of the small thicket. Just as she suspected, chaos had started to disrupt the enemy. The sounds of battle, sounds she should have been very familiar with, only added to an unease that was becoming harder and harder to ignoring. She scanned the battlefield only for Ashe to direct her attention to a specific location.

"There's Lonato!" At the back in some small ruins was an old man sitting on top of a horse and he had several banners, with what she assumed was House Gaspard's Coat of Arms, surrounding him. He certainly knew how to announce himself as the enemy commander, unlike bandits.

She quietly cursed under her breath. She had been hoping that they wouldn't have to face lord Lonato in battle. As hopeful as Ashe was, she didn't think talking to the man was going to change anything; this battle was proof of his conviction. All she could do no was pray that this wouldn't be too painful for her student.

Before they would begin to navigate the battlefield, she looked towards her other students to see if they were alright. From what little she could see, they all looked relatively fine, none of them seemed to be sporting any major injuries. She just hoped that this battle would not be too mentally taxing on them.

With one final exchange of looks with Ashe the two rush forward. They were not the only ones advancing as she saw a few knights with Catherine leading the way. She and Ashe needed to get to Lord Lonato first and that task was starting to seem nearly impossible. She was able to take in some comfort with the fact that the chaos was causing some of the non-knight combats to panic and thus they had little interest in engaging with them and the few knights that where there, were more interested in facing Catherine.

With an ease that seemed to be too good to be true, Byelth was able to get Ashe to Lord Lonato. The lord was an intimidating old man, that thrusted his lance at Byleth when she got to close. But his strong bravado crumbed at the sight of Ashe. With a simple closing of his eyes and taking a deep breath, Lord Lonato managed to regain his earlier bravado; she found it impressive if not a bit sad as well.

"Stand down, Ashe," Lord Lonato said in such a commanding tone that had the boy flinching. She took a step towards Ashe, but a fierce glare from the lord kept her in her place. "I must destroy the evil-doers by any means necessary!"

"Please, surrender Lonato!" Ashe begged. Despite seeing him on the verge of tears early and him trembling before them, Ashe spoke loud and clear. She was proud of him but wished the circumstances had been under better conditions. "Whatever your reasons for doing this, we can still talk it out!"

"Rhea is an infidel who has deceived the people and desecrated the goddess! We have virtue and the goddess herself on our side!"

"Even if all that's all true, dragging the townsfolk into it like this, isn't right!"

"Enough!" Lord Lonato's tone was sharp but his eyes did not match. "If that is how you feel, prepare yourself! I am putting an end to this!" His voice began to waiver at the end, but the words gave Byleth more than enough alarm.

The lord raised his lance high and he shut his eyes when Ashe screamed out his name. Byleth was too slow to react she knew she wouldn't be able to properly block the attack, but she could at least shield Ashe. The lance never connected with either of them, and instead pierced the ground next to them. The lord opened his eyes and locked them on Byleth.

"You are his professor, are you not?" She nodded. "Is this not enough proof that Ashe is innocent in all this?" Ashe called for the lord again as he pushed pass Byleth but he was ignored. "This rebellion is all my doing. Ashe has had nothing to do with this!"

"Do you love Ashe?" she asked, and both of the men looked at her, one with a sharp glare and the other in confusion. "I am not loyal to the church. And when it comes to the archbishop, I do not believe she is all that virtuous…" The older man narrowed his eyes. "If you love him or not, will not make Ashe guilty. I swear to protect him!"

The lord turned his sights on Ashe, and his gaze had softened considerably. "Of course, I love him. He is my son but…" She nodded and hoped that that confession will help to alleviate some of Ashe's pain.

"Let's go Ashe," she said after giving Lord Lonato a final nod.

"Wait! But-" Ashe started, only to be interrupted.

"Go Ashe!" Lord Lonato ordered and Ashe's strong front began to crumble. "I am sorry Ashe, but I must do this. I owe it to Christophe."

The student was silent for a moment, before balling his fits so tightly. Standing tall he looked straight up at his father. A small but proud smile formed on the lord's face. The lord might have been proud but Byleth just felt sorrow. It was clear that they both loved each other dearly, but she couldn't understand why they had to be on opposite ends. Fate was cruel.

Bowing deeply Ashe spoke, "thank you for everything." He remained in his bow for a moment, neither of them saying anything else.

Slowly Ashe raised his head, just in time to see an arrow pierce Lord Lonato in the neck and for him to fall off his horse. Ashe ran to his father, while Byleth looked for the archer but in the chaos of everything she was unable to find the person. The scream that Ashe let out for Lord Lonato to stay with him was too painful to her.

"Sothis!" Byleth screamed out as she stood protectively behind her student.

"What? You want me to reverse time?" Sothis asked. "I do not think that will be a good idea. Your body is already under a great strain."

"Please! I just can't leave it at Ashe seeing his father killed before his eyes." Sothis was quiet for a moment. She could feel the mysterious girl drum her fingers against her throne.

"What do you plan to do?"

"What?"

"How do you plan to stop Ashe from witnessing that moment? Will you pull him away before he gets his closure? Because you cannot stop the archer when you do not know where they are at. And Lonato's fate is to die during this battle, and nothing you can do will change that."

She pressed her lips together as she watched the battle before her. Lord Lonato's men were soon taking notice that their commander had fallen, and she could see the despair grip them as they lost their will to fight. The battle was quickly coming to an end, just like what she wanted but when she looked back at Ashe and saw just how devastated he was; she wanted a different outcome. She realized it was probably foolish as well incredibly selfish of her to do that, but she wanted to protect Ashe.

"I…I will think of something." She could feel Sothis' judgmental stare. Byleth watched as Ashe, sobbed over Lord Lonato's body and it felt like something was gripping her heart. "Please Sothis. I'm already failing to protect him enough as it is. Please let me spare him from some more pain. I beg of you."

With a sigh, she could picture Sothis throwing her hands up in the air. "Fine, but I am not responsible for whatever happens next, do you hear me?" She gave the girl, in her head, a firm nod before she felt the strange twist of magic that rewound time.

"Thank you for everything." She heard Ashe speak for the second time.

She took a step forward, only for her vision to go white for a minute forcing her to drop to her knees. Her hand flew to her mouth to try and muffle the coughing that soon shook her body. When she pulled her hand away, she discovered blood upon it.

"Seems like three is your absolute limit," Sothis said.

"Professor, are you alright?" Ashe asked as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked up to see that she was his focus in his clear, pure eyes; she hoped that they would stay like that after all this was over. From behind them was Lord Lonato, who despite still being the enemy commander was still the caring man that Ashe had described him to be as he looked at her with concern.

She had no time to calm them as she looked for the archer. The archer was still elusive, but she knew the arrow would be connecting at any moment. It was an incredibly foolish thing to do, she would know that better than anyone, but she was completely desperate. She channeled as much of her magic as she could into her good hand and released a burst of fire. It didn't burn the arrow liked she would have hoped but she did at least manage to spook Lord Lonato's horse enough to have it move its rider out of the way, and the arrow clanged uselessly against the stone walls.

She managed to prevent herself from screaming out, but a groan did escape her. For her action she burnt her hand to the point where she wouldn't be able to use it until it was treated. She had effectively achieved taking herself out of commission, but she did at least managed to spare Ashe from witnessing his father's death; even though Sothis was screaming at her.

"Ashe, you need to get your professor out of here. She pushed herself a great deal for you," Lord Lonato said.

Ashe gave his father one final nod before helping Byleth wrap an arm around his shoulder. Against his skin, she realized just how heated hers was and that there was more of a consequence to her botched spell than the simple burned hand. He offered her comforting words as they retreated, but she felt so underserving for all of them.

Their retreat was slow, and it was all because of her. Her body felt so incredibly heavy that she was struggling to walk and would often have to drag one of her feet, which would place a small unexpected burden on Ashe. She was not happy with herself. She might have helped Ashe a little but was it worth it? Did she really help him? And what about her other students? She potentially put them all in danger because she could no longer help them. She was a horrible professor.

"Have more faith in your students," Sothis said. "You have been training them well and I don't sense anything off about them." That was a great relief off her shoulders.

She stole a peek at Ashe, during one of their little stumbles. It was clear to her that he was trying so hard to put up on a strong front, but the quivering lip and the constant blinking was betraying him. She hung her head as her own eyes burned with the tears, she would never be able to shed.

"I'm sorry," she said more quietly than she meant too, but she found it hard to speak with the lump in her throat. Momentarily Ashe halted their advancement and she glanced up at him to see him biting his lower lip to stop the quivering. "I'm just dead weight right now and I didn't do anything…"

"No," he shouted at first before his voice turned into a soft whisper, "no. You did everything…" He turned his head away from her so she couldn't see his face. "I was only able to see Lonato because of you." His voice trailed off as he choked back a sob. "I will always be grateful to you Professor. You did everything for me." The sobs started to become more frequent. "You are only in this state because of me and my selfishness…" A small quiet settled over them as she just didn't know what to say or do.

"You burned yourself to save Lonato for me, didn't you?" She didn't say anything. He looked at her again, and she could see his tears falling freely. "I'm sorry Professor…I…" She shook her head and he dropped that thought as he cried some more.

With her numb arm she reached out to pat his head but because of the numbness she couldn't really tell how much pressure she was placing upon him. He opened his eyes to look at her and she just stared into them for a moment. Praying that she would not see a darkness in them when this war was finally over. She didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say, because no words would make this horrible situation better.

A deranged yell broke them out of their little moment as a man wielding an axe charged at them. She shoved Ashe away as she stood in the path of the attacker. She grabbed her sword, despite the excruciating pain she felt by doing so and held it before her. Without any strength she knew there would be little she could do to block the attack, let alone finish off the man.

The man raised his axe high and then he dropped to the ground. Not really understanding what just happened, her gaze followed the man and she discovered a lot of blood spilling from his backside. She was transfixed on the man for a moment until someone shouted her name and she looked to see Catherine standing before her.

Ashe was instantly at her side and he tried to reach out for her but out of instinct she pulled her hand away. A scowl danced on Catherine's face as she looked at the two people before her. Byleth was only vaguely aware about the fact that she needed to put her sword away. Soon a few more knights and an archer caught up to them. A quick assessment was done of her and she maneuvered herself to stand in front of her student, to hide him as best as she could.

"You look like the Eternal Flame spit you out," Catherine said. Though she had been joking there was a slight edge to her voice. Byleth chuckled at the joke regardless, as it seemed to be an accurate description of how she felt.

The former mercenary noticed the glare that the archer was giving her. Given that the knights had reached them, she had pushed for Ashe to continue with the retreat alone as she was sure he would be fine. He was a bit reluctant too but eventually gave in as she nudged him some more. She was relieved to see that none of the knights had tried to stop him.

"How do you feel?"

"Like the Eternal Flame spit me out," Byleth answered with little feeling in her voice. Without Ashe's support it took a great deal of effort for her to stand and without his cool skin she felt like she was back in Sreng's desert.

"Did you have something to do with that burst of fire?" the archer asked and narrowed her eyes. "Because my arrow would have ended this fight."

Byleth wanted nothing more than to lay down and finally gave her body the break it needed but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Adjusting her weight to one side, her body cried out, but she ignored it as she looked at the archer. She had no idea what she was going to do. She had been so focused on keeping Lord Lonato alive long enough for Ashe to leave that she didn't even consider what her actions would have looked like.

"Byleth," Sothis called, and Byleth gave the mysterious girl what little attention she could. "This may be a bit farfetched, but you might be able to use it as a lie." She gave a small bob of her head to instruct Sothis to continue. "To create the fog spell, there needs to be a lot of water in the air and you can claim that your blast of fire was to prevent another mage from casting the spell. I am sure that there had to be another mage involved some how because I doubt one person alone could have created as much as they did."

It seemed like a bit of nonsense to Byleth. Afterall, how did Sothis even know such a thing? She could feel Sothis shrug her shoulders at the professor's thoughts. Byleth decided to not really question it as she had no better lie to work with.

"Well?" the archer barked, and she just felt more tired at that.

With no better option, Byleth used Sothis' lie as her explanation. There were looks of doubt on the knights' faces but none of them were experts on magic, so no one voiced their doubts. Eventually their expressions began to change, when she further added about how the fog could be used to hide their escape. As if satisfied for the moment Catherine was going to let the topic drop but the archer didn't.

"Why didn't you finish off Lord Lonato?"

That had ignited the anger that had defused in Byleth right before they arrived at Castle Gaspard. She stepped towards the archer and looked her in the eye. The archer stepped back but Byleth didn't allow for much distant between the two.

The former mercenary held up left arm as if it would strengthen her argument but with no visible signs of anything wrong with it, it didn't. "Because my left arm is numb from casting Aura, a spell I haven't quite mastered yet, in order to kill the mage that was maintaining the first fog and allowing for all of you to not be at the mercy of the enemy's ambush any longer." She held up her right hand to show of the nasty burn and that got a reaction from everyone. "I burned my right hand to prevent another fog from descending." The archer said nothing and back down a little but still maintained a glare. "Don't forget that it was me that prevented many deaths at the beginning of this fight but having you all prepare for the volley of arrows."

"And how did you know about the arrows?" the archer asked back but there was a lot less bite to her voice now.

"Because I could see through the fog. That was how I was able to save you all and take down the mage."

Having her fill of the archer, Byleth turned to Catherine, who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange. "My students and I have done more than our fair share in this battle; the rest will be up to you knights."

Catherine nodded. "We have already ordered for your students to fall back." Byleth gave the knight a nod and began to walk away. "Do you need help?" Yes, but she didn't want to accept it. She still felt her blood boiling, even though the other knights weren't as accusatory as the archer, she didn't want their help. And though it might be a hypocritical, given the fact that she prolonged the fight, she wanted the battle to end as soon as possible and she didn't want to take away one knight away from the frontlines if it meant even prolonging the battle by a fraction of a second. The sooner the battle was over the sooner everyone could begin healing. Catherine gave her a look of doubt but in the end, she accepted Byleth's stubbornness and ordered her group to march forward.

Byleth stumbled back to camp. Each step was heavier than the last. She realized that she had just been making bad decision after bad decision. Eventually, everything got to be too much, and she collapsed against a tree. She was hard press to believe that anything would have been different if she had actually had taken a few moments to think before acting, well maybe the saving of Lord Lonato situation could have gone better; she didn't feel confident in that belief.

She looked up at the leaves, from the tree she sat against, swaying gently in the breeze. They looked so at peace, a striking contrast to what was happening on the ground. They reminded her of a peace she knew she and her students would never be able to return too, at least not in a way where they could remain ignorant to war.

Did she really do the right thing for Ashe? Did it really bring him comfort, even though his father still died in the end? Was it worth her practically abandoning her students to give Ashe that moment? Her chaotic thoughts continued to swirl in her mind as she continued to watch the leaves.

A shout of her name had her gaze drifting downwards to see Dimitri rushing towards her. She tried to stand up, but she found that she had no strength to do so. She gave him a strained, little smile as he dropped to his knees next to her. She at least found some comfort in seeing that he was relatively okay, though the look in his eyes told a different story.

There was a long pause between them as Dimitri looked at her or more accurately through her. She wanted to know what was going through his mind at that moment but was also afraid to know. With her numb arm she reached out and grabbed his hand, but he didn't acknowledge her.

A few seconds past and he seemed to finally return as his focus settled on her. "Are you hurt?" he asked. She tried to hide her burnt hand, but it did not escape his gaze. "Of course, you are," he uttered darkly but when he returned his gaze to her, his eyes were clear of darkness but not of sorrow. "Ashe explained to us that you were seriously injured."

"I wouldn't say 'seriously injured'. An experience healer can treat me, and I should have little to no side effects," she explained but he eyed her suspiciously.

"He said you were coughing up blood." With everything that happened she had completely forgotten about that.

"I will be fine, I promise."

There was a slight scowl on his face, but he dropped it, along with his gaze. His fists balled tightly as he glared at the ground before him. With a sudden yell he slammed his hands against the ground before he hunched forward to hide himself.

A silence stretched out between them before she finally reached out to touch him again. He flinched at her gentle touch. She rubbed circles on his back, and he didn't move. They stayed like that for a few minutes until he finally found the nerve to sit up and look at her. He looked so pained and she didn't know what to do.

"…These were people that I swore to protect and I…I killed them…," he finally spoke after a few more seconds of silence. She stared at him, completely unsure of what to say. Just like with Ashe she knew she was helpless to change anything and yet Dimitri was looking at her with such expectation that it hurt her so much.

Finally, she decided to try and hope that physical actions would help as she pulled him into a hug. His body was stiff at first but eventually he gave into the gesture and squeezed her. He was holding her too tightly, but she didn't dare to say anything. She ignored his trembling as she continued to rub circles onto his back.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you better." He squeezed her tighter as he buried his face into her shoulder more.

It was slow but he eventually pulled himself away from her, but he didn't meet her gaze. His arms still held hers and she did nothing, in fear of that she might accidently give him the wrong impression that it bothered her. He said something but it had been so quiet that she didn't hear it.

"Why?" he repeated on his own without her prompting him too. "Why?" he asked again and looked at her. "Why did this happen?" With no answers she remained quiet. Not once did he blink as he continued to stare into her eyes.

"I do not know…" she answered weakly.

"They didn't need to die!" His grip on her arms began to tighten. "They were not knights or soldiers! They were fathers and sons! We should not have killed them!" His grip began to tighten even more that it started to hurt but she still said nothing. "We should have found another way…" His gaze dropped.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. If only I was stronger…if only I was…" Was what? She didn't know. She did not know what she of all people could have done. She couldn't protect her students from fighting in this horrible battle. She couldn't save Ashe's adoptive father. She couldn't do anything.

He hung his head and his grip loosened considerably. "I know that if we had not… had we not done what we did, even more civilian lives would have been lost but…such facts do not make me feel any better…nor should they."

He looked at her again and he just looked so lost. "Those in power, no matter the era, always claim they fight for a just cause. That they take life to protect it. But…Is it truly okay to take any life you please, all in service of some implacable 'just cause'?" It was her turn to look away. She had no answers to such a question.

"Lord Lonato did not take up arms out of a lust for power." He was once again gripping her arms tightly. "He simply believed his cause to be just. Who is to say it was not?" She pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say. Lord Lonato did not seem like a cruel man to her but that didn't change the fact that he got peasants involved, none of them trained for the war they fought in. She had no answers and she didn't know what to do.

He let go of her arms so that he could stand up, but he continued to look at her, though she continued to look away. "Maybe we do not have to cut him down like this." He paused to look out towards the field where the last bit of the battle was being fought. "Maybe we could have reached a mutual understanding…found a path of peace." As wonderful as that may have sounded, she had her doubts. Lord Lonato seemed to be determined to go to war. Not even Ashe could reach him, what hope did outsiders have? But maybe they could have done more. Maybe if the church had shown more sympathy and have had tried to negotiate more, they could have found a better outcome.

"I…I have to believe that." He dropped his gaze to the ground again, and the softness of his voice her gaze returned to him. "Perhaps the notion sounds laughable to you. Mere lips service to naïve ideals. But I cannot believe otherwise."

She struggled to get onto her feet until he helped her. He did not let go of her arms after helping her, but his touch was so light that it might not even have been there. Ignoring the pain of her burn, she cupped his cheek so that he would look at her, and he did not fight her when she did it.

"They are not laughable." His eyes widen slightly. "Those are ideals that I would love to follow." That was the truth. If she could avoid wars like this by trying to work with the other party, then she would gladly try. That was a future she could look forward too.

He leaned his head against her left palm and closed his eyes. "Thank you."

* * *

A/N: About my last question, the group's consensus was that they liked how I wrote Byleth's duel with Catherine, so I'll try to stick to that format unless there is a more challenge to the duel. Thank you all for your inputs!

Head cannon notes:

Faith magic requires a lot less magic to cast than the Reason spells and that is why they do a lot less damage. Aura might be a more powerful spell than the Bolanone spell, but it has a smaller radius and thus that requires less magic. So, Aura only hit the mage and archer but if Byleth had been able to cast Bolanone she would have been able to take the knight out as well.

The Hero Relics managed to boost an ability of their wielders. Weapons have a weaker boost than the support relics, but their boost are still incredibly deadly. Most weapon-based relics just provide a boost in power, while Thunderbrand is more unique in that regard by provide a boost to speed instead.

Since the game doesn't really explain how the fog didn't hinder the enemies as well, my theory is that there was another mage that had buffed up the army's resistance so that they could see through the fog better. So, even though neither Byleth or Sothis were aware of the other mage they were right that there had been another one in the mix and that Byleth's blast of fire did prevent another fog spell.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: So, it is Mercedes' birthday today. What better way to celebrate than with angst on the last hour of the day!

* * *

**Garland Moon 1180:**

**Night of the Thirtieth of the Garland Moon:**

Byleth stared at her bandage right hand. Since it was expected for there to be a large number of wounded knights to be returning soon, she didn't get the full treatment that she needed. That was fine to her and she actually had been expecting that. Her actions throughout the battle had been idiotic and she believed that she needed to suffer more consequences for them. At least her botched spell didn't leave her feeling like her skin was on fire, though she knew she wouldn't be able to assist in healing because of it.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked and she tore her eyes away from her hand to look at him. Ever since he found her on the battlefield, he had been stuck to her, and she had been dependent on him because of it. She had been unable to walk back to camp on her own, so he carried her back and though he did not know it, he had been helping to keep her mentally stable as she was sure she would given in to all her negative thoughts if he left her. She was afraid to discover what kind of mess she will be like once they separate for the night.

She clenched her fist as best as she could and winced because of it. The burn wasn't as severe as before, but it was still painful. "I will be fine," she answered, and he didn't seem too pleased. "I'm a lot better than before." He gave her a little nod at that.

In all honesty she knew full well that she should be unconscious. Not only was her tolerance to pain unbelievable but she was staying awake out of sheer stubbornness. Sothis had fallen asleep not long after Byleth had parted with Catherine on the battlefield and she wondered if maybe three-time rewinds was also Sothis' limit as well. Before Byleth would allow herself to rest she needed to make sure her students were okay and because she also knew that if she were to suddenly collapse it would upset them.

She felt Dimitri grab her left hand, while staring at her. Her left hand still had a bit of numbness to it, so she wouldn't be able to rely on it for at least another day. She leaned against him as they walked, as her answer to his unspoken question. Having him carrying her would be great but she was sure if he did that she would finally give in and sleep. Besides they were in camp, she was sure the knights would question such an action; speaking of which she stood straight and pulled her hand away, he did not question her actions so she was sure he understood.

It took a lot of effort for her, but they finally arrived at the students' camp section, which was just on the opposite end of where the knights' medic tent was. Sylvain and Felix sat quietly in the middle of the camp, where the fire will be built soon and Dedue stood a bit away, leaning against a tree and fiddling with his axe. The girls and Ashe were nowhere to be seen but as they passed by the girls' tent, they could hear crying and she hoped that Ashe was in her shared tent.

When she attempted to break away from Dimitri to enter the girls' tent, he panicked and grabbed her arm a bit too tightly. Large, blue eyes stared into hers and she was helpless to his gaze for a moment. Giving him a small smile, she lightly gripped his hand and nudged her head towards the girls' tent. Slowly he came to his senses and looked away slightly, before releasing her hand and giving her a small nod. She watched him walk over to Dedue for a moment before she entered.

The girls were sitting in the middle of their tent trying to comfort a crying Mercedes. Annette's eyes were red with tear stains down her cheeks, she hugged her best friend as she offered words of comfort. Ingrid hovered close, though her body was stiff as she offered some of her own words of support, but hers were a lot less impactful thanks to her lack of confidence when she spoke. The knight in training was the first to notice the professor and moved out of the way so that the newcomer could sit next to Mercedes.

"It is okay," Byleth said as softly as she could. Lightly she rested one of her hands on Mercedes' shoulder and the other on her lower back. Briefly Mercedes ceased her crying to look at Byleth. "Everything will be okay. The battle is over."

Violently, Mercedes shook her head and went back to crying into her hands. Byleth looked at her other students, seeking answers but neither of them said anything and looked away. Putting a bit more pressure on the healer, Byleth hoped she would get Mercedes to look at her again.

"What is wrong? Won't you please tell me?" Mercedes didn't answer and her body shook as a powerful sob broke through her. She leaned forward to hide herself a bit more and Byleth feared she made a mistake, but she didn't give up. "Please Mercedes."

The soft-spoken woman's trembling stopped but she did not move, at least not right away. Slowly she sat up and looked at the tent's entrance. Tears were still streaming down her face, but she wasn't sobbing at the very least. She tried to start speaking but her voice was gone. She took a deep breath and a sob nearly escaped her upon an exhale.

"I…I couldn't save someone!" She finally admitted and broke down crying again. All the other women shared looks. Annette went back to hugging Mercedes and offering words of comfort. Sweet words that were most likely true but Byleth knew from experience that they were not the words that Mercedes didn't want to hear at that moment.

Placing a hand on one of Annette's, Byleth got the younger woman to say no more. The professor maneuvered herself so that she was in front of Mercedes and Ingrid took over her old spot. Mercedes stared at Byleth was such sorrow in her eyes that Byleth realized that she had failed to help another student.

"Forgive me Mercedes." The sobs turned into snivels as Mercedes looked at her professor. "I'm sorry that I didn't teach you the most important lesson about being a healer." Byleth held Mercedes' hands and rubbed her knuckles. All the women looked at the professor. "This may sound cruel, but you can't save everyone."

Both Ingrid and Annette shouted at her, but she didn't pay any attention to them and instead focused on Mercedes, who began to cry again. That was such a painful lesson that Byleth had learned all her own and she was so ashamed of herself for not preparing Mercedes to learn it. She was a horrible professor.

"Forgive me for failing you." Mercedes said nothing and just continued to cry some more. "I should have taught you that beforehand."

"Professor!" Annette shouted. "How can you say such a thing?" Tears were now beginning to form at the corner of her eyes, but Byleth didn't give the mage too much attention.

"Just as you have learned the lesson in a painful manner, I was the same, and yet I failed to prepare you for it." Mercedes' sobs became quiet hiccups so Byleth continued, "I learned the lesson, when I failed to save a man that was like a father to me." She had to take a deep breath. She tried so hard to forget Muharib's death, it was too painful but if she had remembered, she could have spared Mercedes.

Gasps escaped the other women but none of them registered to Byleth. She opened her mouth to speak several times, but she could never find her voice. The memory of Muharib dying before her and she not having enough magic to save him; no, she could have saved him and all she needed to do was being willing to sacrifice herself. He died because she was weak! Because she was a coward!

The memory of Muharib beginning to speak his final words, words that long since stopped reaching her, played before her eyes. The memory was interrupted as she was pressed against someone and it took her a few seconds to register that it was Mercedes, soon Ingrid and Annette joined in for a group hug. It was only then that she had realized that her vision had blurred with the tears that she would never be able to shed as she clung to Mercedes.

No one said anything and that was just fine. After a minute or so Byleth pulled back and she stared at Mercedes for a few more seconds. Eventually nods were exchanged and Bylethe left the women, knowing that at least she managed to help Mercedes a little.

Outside the girls' tent was Dimitri and he quickly latched onto her, and she barely acknowledged him with a small bob of her head. She was sure the hug had helped the girls and she felt something from it as well but digging up an old wound wasn't too pleasant for her. Muharib mouthing his final words flashed before her mind again and she tried to push it away by squeezing her eyes shut.

A light touch from Dimitri broke her out of the memory and she looked at him. There was such concern in his eyes that she felt the same little warmth that the hug had given her. She patted his hand and gave him a small smile, as her silent way of telling him that she would be okay.

She glanced around the little area, Dedue had joined Sylvain and Felix but he still kept his distance and Ashe was still nowhere to be seen. She glanced at her tent hoping that he was in there. Right when she was about to make her way over to it, Sylvain spoke up.

"Looking for Ashe?" he asked but he didn't look at her. He continued to stare down at his hands, even when she answered him. "I…I do not know what to say to him…" He buried his face into his hands. "He must be suffering so much right now and there is nothing I can do for him."

She walked over to Sylvain and rested a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react. Just as she had no words for Ashe on the battlefield, she had no words for him. It was just another painful reminder of how useless she was.

"He is at the lake," Felix spoke so quietly that she nearly missed it. She glanced at him, but he didn't look at her. "You can help him," he spoke again with eyes still locked on the ground, "I know you can."

Wordlessly, she gave him a nod. She had her doubts that she could actually help Ashe, but he needed someone, and she would step into that roll. With a final glance at everyone she began to leave, only to quickly discover that Dimitri was following her.

"I…I wish to help Ashe," he said when she first glanced at him. Having him there would be a great comfort as she was sure he would do a much better job at consoling Ashe than her; after all, he was always able to do a marvelous job at making her feel better by simply being there. "I…I have some idea what he must be feeling…" As he spoke again his gaze began to drift away. She grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze; his gaze returned to her but that was about it. They walked the rest of the way to the lake holding hands.

The lake wasn't that far from the camp, in fact a few knights' tents were near it. Sitting on the lake's edge away from the tents was Ashe. He was staring at his reflection with hollow eyes, he didn't react at all when Dimitri or Byleth sat on either side of him.

Byleth stared at Ashe for a few seconds but he still didn't move. She glanced at Dimitri, who looked back with her seeking the same answers as she was. She reached out to touch Ashe but stopped herself. Unable to pull her hand back it hovered over his back.

"Ashe," she called his name so softly and she finally got a reaction, a tiny one but one nonetheless, he flinched at the sound of her voice. Dimitri also called for him, but he didn't really react at that.

The archer pulled his knees closer to him, but his gaze remained locked on the lake. Finally, she placed her hand on his back and he buried his face into his knees. A few seconds passed before she called his name again and a few more seconds later before he slowly showed his face again and she could see that he had started to cry.

"I…I do not understand why," he finally said, and he continued to refuse to look at either her or Dimitri. "Why did he do such a thing?" He pressed his knees further against him. "Why didn't he tell me anything? Why?"

She had asked herself those same questions but as an outsider she had no answers. She was sure it had something to do with that Christophe person, but she had no idea who he was, and she knew asking Ashe about him at the time would just be cruel. With nothing to say she just rubbed his back and stared at the lake. The sunset was reflecting off the lake, on any other occasion she would have thought it to be a beautiful sight, but on that day, it just felt like a slap to the face.

"If he hated the church so much then why did he send me to Garreg Mach? Why send me to his enemy?"

"He must have not wanted you to get caught up in his own personal vendetta," Dimitri answered before she could think of anything to say. Ashe finally tore his eyes away from the lake to look at the prince.

"But why!" Dimitri flinched at the unexpected, loud outburst. "Why send me to Garreg Mach?" Dimitri looked to her for support. "Why did he keep me in the dark?"

"To protect you," she said, and it was her turn to have Ashe face her. She was now able to see all the emotions in his eyes, there were so many, but she didn't see any darkness and she was relieved. "Your safety must have been his priority."

A scowl formed on his lips as his gaze drifted downwards. "But…but I…" His voice began to wavier.

"Lord Lonato wanted to protect you. He sent you to Garreg Mach so that the church wouldn't hold any suspicions against you." She would take that secret of the archbishop's plans to her grave. She was sure that that had to be Lord Lonato's reasoning because surely the lord had to see how futile his endeavor was. Even if the ambush had been a success and he had won the battle, he would still have no hope of winning the war, specially if the church had called upon the Kingdom for support.

"Lonato…" The tears started to fall freely, and she pulled Ashe in for a hug. He was stiff at first but then he squeezed her so tightly that it knocked the wind out of her, but she did nothing as he really began to cry. While she patted his head, she looked at Dimitri, who was staring at the lake with an unreadable expression.

It wasn't until the sun had set that Ashe finally stopped crying. The front of her tunic was soaked but she didn't care and assured him of that. It took a little coaxing, but she managed to get him to agree to returning to camp with her.

When they returned to camp, they discovered that everyone was sitting around the campfire. Mercedes had seemed to have stopped crying but Byleth knew that it was only temporary. Everyone looked at them, but no one had the heart to say a greeting.

She helped Ashe to sit next to Ingrid, who started to speak to him softly. He didn't say anything, but she didn't stop talking to him about little things, like the warmth of the fire and such. Byleth realized that she didn't give Ingrid enough credit, the young woman had enough confidence in trying to take charge and help Ashe recover, something Byleth couldn't say about herself. After a minute or so Felix joined them by sitting on the other side of Ashe. He said nothing but Byleth knew his presence was enough to offer some comfort.

Suddenly the stillness of their camp was disturbed by an angry shout as a knight stormed his way over, followed by another one, failing to restrain the first. All eyes flew to the knights, but he didn't care. As soon as his eyes landed on Ashe, he became even more belligerent and Byleth instantly stood in his way.

"Sir Knight, I'm going to ask you to please lower your voice," she said as calmly as she could as she continued to stand in the knight's path as he tried to move around her.

"Get out of my way!" the knight shouted as he shoved her out of his way and Dimitri got involved as he grabbed her arm so that she would tumble too far. He now stood in the knight's way but was far more aggressive about it than her.

"Sir Knight, is there something we can do for you?" Dimitri asked politely but there was an edge to his voice that had the other knight flinching a little. The loud knight glared at Dimitri, but he did not touch the royal.

"Yeah," the knight growled out as he pushed away the other knight. "Hand over the traitorous brat!"

All of the students stood on guard. Felix and Ingrid stood in front of Ashe while Dedue stood behind him. Sylvain stood up from his spot, but he didn't move. Annette and Mercedes moved to Ashe's side. Dimitri glared dangerously at the man before him, who seemed to be too caught up in his anger to notice the shift in the air.

Once again Byleth stood in the man's path. "I am going to need you to leave," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. Sothis would have been proud of her, if the girl had been awake to see the event.

"Shut up! Don't think you are some saint!" The knight tried to swipe at her, but she easily stepped back to avoid it. Dimitri moved forward to grab the man, but she stopped him by grabbing his arm and when he had calmed down some she let go of his hand. "I will deal with your disloyal ass later!" Once again Dimitri moved for the man but was stopped when she held up a hand. She never took her eyes off the man as she stood in between the knight and Dimitri.

"Leave," was all she said but there was a sharp edge to her voice.

"I will not take orders from scum like you!"

Once again Dimitri tried to lunge at the man, but she stopped him. The man continued to shout insult after insult and would constantly shove the other knight away. Clutching her fists tightly, she said nothing and just watched as the knight continued to make a fool of himself.

"Hand over that bastard child!" the knight screamed right into her face. Gritting her teeth, she had to physically hold back Dimitri by placing a hand on his chest. "He will pay for his father's sins!"

She finally had enough and punched the man as hard as she could with her burnt hand. Her hand cried out in pain, but she didn't care as she glared daggers at the knight, who was lying on the ground trying to figure out what just happened. Shouts of her name and title filled the campsite but she could not hear them over the sound of the blood rushing in her ears.

"You bitch!" The knight quickly got onto his feet and was about to rush at her, but Dimitri pulled her behind him and was prepared to take the hit instead. Before the blow could land a new shout filled the area, halting everyone.

"What is going on here?" Catherine's loud voice rang out in the little area. She and two other knights soon joined everyone.

"I punched a knight," Byleth said and folded her arms across her chest.

"Wha?" Dimitri blurted out as he looked at her for a second before quickly turning to address Catherine. "That is not entirely true!"

"She punched me right in the face!" The belligerent knight shouted as he messaged his injured cheek. She couldn't help but think that she didn't punch him hard enough.

"Only because you threatened her and Ashe!" Sylvain shouted and the other students either nodded or voiced their agreements.

Catherine was silent as she looked at everyone and Byleth refused to make eye contact. Eventually her eyes landed on the other knight, who had been the area. When that knight confirmed what Sylvain said to be true, she sighed.

"You two," she started by directing it towards the two knights, "return to your tents. I will deal with you later." The aggressive knight tried to object but a glare from Catherine silenced him. With some insistence from the quiet knight the two left.

Catherine than turned her sights on to Byleth, who was now looking at her. She let out another large sigh, as she shook her head. The women stared down each other and Byleth made it clear that she wasn't going to be the one to speak first.

"Why did you do that?" the knight captain finally asked.

"He threatened one of my students," Byleth said with no emotion. She believed the knight should be grateful that she just didn't run her blade through him. Her eyes widen in surprise at how violent her own thoughts were.

"I get that but," Catherine paused to sigh again, "you should know better." Byleth just shrugged her shoulders and Catherine groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You do realize that you need to be punished, right?"

"That is not fair!" Dimitri butted in before Byleth could say anything. "He stormed his way into our area and started causing problems. By-I mean Professor only acted in defense of one of her students!"

"I understand that but-"

"She should not be punished!"

"Dimitri," Byleth said and she gave him a small glare as a warning. He pressed his lips together but backed down; she then turned her sights onto Catherine. "I will accept whatever punishment you decide."

Sighing yet again, the older woman scratched the back of her head, loosening up her ponytail in the process. She gave Byleth a long, hard look. Slowly her gaze drifted away with a slight shake of her head.

"I'll let Lady Rhea decide your actual punishment but for tonight you will go without dinner."

"Sir Catherine, please reconsider!" Dimitri once again butted in before Byleth could say anything. He ignored his professor's warning glare. "By-I mean Professor is injured and going without eating will only slow her recovering process."

Catherine pressed her lips together. "Dimitri," Byleth said but he didn't back down, so she then shouted his name and he flinched a little. She stepped forward and nodded at Catherine. "I accept my punishment."

"But-" She gave Dimitri an even more intense glare and he went silent.

"I punched a knight." He scowled a little, but he said nothing. "I'm being let off easy." For now, at least but she got the feeling that the archbishop wasn't going to give her much of a punishment either.

She looked towards the knights' camp. The two knights were long gone, and she was glad for that. She then turned her sights on Catherine, who seemed to be trying really hard to keep her expression neutral.

"That knight," she paused to look back at the knights' camp, "he lost someone in the battle, didn't he?"

There was a bit of a silence before Catherine spoke. "Yes, he lost his best friend." Still looking at the knights' side of the camp, Byleth nodded. She accepted that she was deserving of his backlash. If she had been more level head, thought things through, then maybe that knight's friend wouldn't have had to die.

"It's my fault for all the casualties." Dimitri opened his mouth to protest but she silenced him with a raise of her hand. "If any of the other knights have problems, I will be willing to listening to them. But Ashe is innocent in all of this!" Her eyes narrowed on Catherine, who nodded. "Have your knights direct their anger at me."

"That is-" Dimitri tried to speak again but she wouldn't have it and just talked over him.

"Dinner is ready isn't it?" Byleth asked the knights and didn't even spare Dimitri a glance.

There was a bit of a pause from Catherine again before she answered. "Yes, we came to inform you of that." Seemed a little excessive for the commander, herself, to come but Byleth decided to not comment on it; she was already giving Catherine enough problems.

None of the students moved and just continued to watch the knights. It was the professor's turn to sigh. She gestured for them to leave but they all remained stubbornly in place. She couldn't blame them for doing so, she was sure they were worried about other knights' outburst and of course their silent protest against her not eating.

"You all need to eat!" They just looked at her. "You all just fought a hard battle." She held up a hand to silence Dimitri's obvious rebuttal. "Please eat."

A silence settled over everyone and she was at a loss of what to do. Suddenly, Felix got up and began to walk towards the knights' side of camp. Everyone watched him but none followed so he stopped right when he passed Byleth.

"We should not let food go to waste," he said as she glared at her, though his glare lacked any real intensity, and she wondered if it was just permanently etched into his face. After saying his peace, he began to walk away, and she just couldn't understand why he hand to be so difficult, but she was grateful, nonetheless. She wondered if he remembered the story, she told him and the others when they were kids about the time that she went two days without food because of terrible planning and luck.

It took a few moments but eventually the others began to follow. Dimitri remained stubbornly behind and by extension Dedue as well. Dimitri wouldn't look at her and was too busy scowling down at the ground. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he slightly flinched at her touch, but he did not look at her.

"Will you help Ashe get dinner?" He sighed but nodded. It was a few more seconds before he finally gave in and left and so did Dedue.

Soon it was just her and the knights. Catherine opened her mouth to say something but a second later she closed it with a shake of her head. Clasping a hand on Byleth's shoulder Catherine left without saying anything.

Now alone, the former mercenary stared at the little campsite. She recalled the last time she went camping with her friends and it was during the Wyvern Moon in 1174. It was fun until the ambush, she wondered if she was allowed to have fun camping trips with her friends; well ones were Claude wasn't around.

Her gaze drifted over to her tent. She need sleep, Sothis had already drifted off long ago, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do so. Taking a deep breath, she began to walk away from the camp. She knew it was foolish, her students would clearly be expecting her when they returned with their food, but she didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be reminded right away that she had failed them all.

Still close enough to camp that she could hear if there was an emergency, she rested against a tree. She rested her head in her knees as she tried to block everything out. While she managed to succeed with the outside world, her mind was another failure. Her thoughts continued to race, with all possible changes she could have done and how everything could have turned out differently.

Her head snapped up when she heard her name being called. Standing before her was Dimitri with a bowl and bread in hand. With wide eyes she looked around and discovered that there was no one else around but him. With no real thoughts in her head she just stared at him until he sat down next to her.

"Here," he said as she handed her the bowl. She stared at it before looking up at him.

"Did they give you extra?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

He looked forward. "Yes." He was still a terrible liar. She pushed the food back towards him and he frowned.

"I'm not allowed to have dinner, remember?"

"That is not fair." She didn't say anything as she was now looking forward, while he looked at her. "Well if you will not eat than neither will I!"

"There are starving people in the world, you know?" From her periphery she could see him flinch. That was something she had often heard parents tell their kids to get them to eat, people that never had to worry about where they would get their next meal. She wondered if hearing such a thing had an impact on the kids, but she at least knew it would have one on Dimitri; he was such a kind soul. "Are you just going to waste food while someone will go to bed hungry tonight?"

Silently, he picked up his meal and ate it. It was a simple meal of bread and a soup of some kind. It was not a meal fit for a prince or good enough to replace the energy lost from the battle, but it would be easy on the stomach and that was the import part. She watched as he dutifully ate all of it, not allowing for a single bite to remain. She felt bad for guilting him into eating but he needed to eat.

The silence continued, long after his meal was finished. She had wanted to remain sitting up, doing whatever they were doing, but eventually she was losing out to her exhaustion and was leaning against him for support. Earlier sleep was escaping her but, in his presence, she felt at peace and found herself drifting off.

"By," he called for her softly and she hummed just as softly. She felt him shift around but she didn't move. "Oh, I apologize. Please sleep." Reluctantly, she sat up and slightly shook her head. His little frown didn't go unnoticed, but she decided to ignore it. Despite how at peace she was, she knew she shouldn't be doing that. The battle might be over but there were still knights on patrol and it could be dangerous if they were discovered in such a situation. Besides, she couldn't go to sleep not until Ashe did. At the thought of Ashe, she started to feel guilty for not being at camp.

The silence returned. She stared up at him and he stared down at her or more accurately he was looking through her. Seconds ticked by and he finally closed his eyes. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes again and instead of looking at her, he looked at her bandaged hand that he was now gently holding.

The silence stretched on until he finally looked into her eyes. "By," he called so softly that her name was nearly lost to the winds. He gave her hand a small squeeze, careful to not hurt her "Can you please promise me to not do something so reckless?" She could tell that the promise had nothing to do with her interaction with the knight. She pressed her lips together. "If…If I lost you…I…please promise me that you will be more careful." It was a reasonable request, one her father had constantly requested of her, but it wasn't one she was sure she could keep; she had yet to do so with any of her father's. That day might have been loaded with terrible decisions on her part, but she still stood by her decision to go into battle alone to kill the mage.

"Please By!" The desperation in his voice had been too much and she found herself agreeing to a promise she knew full well that she would not be able to keep.

* * *

Byleth awoke in a cold sweat. She sat up in her bedroll, desperately trying to forget her dream and failing miserably. The images of Dedue and Ashe lying in pools of their own blood, just would not leave her. She curled herself into a ball hopelessly trying to think of anything that could erase those images, but her mind just wouldn't allow it.

The stillness of the night was interrupted by a muffled cry. Slowly she unraveled herself to look over at Ashe, who was tossing and turning in his bedroll. Under normal circumstances she was to share her tent with Ingrid but given everything she chose to share it with Ashe because she was sure he would suffer from nightmares. Even though he was suffering it did bring her a great comfort to see that he was alive.

Careful to not make too much sound she made her way over to him. Channeling a small bit of magic into her hand, she placed it on Ashe's head until he stopped tossing and turning. After that she ran her hand through his hair still channeling the little bit of magic and whispered comforting words that she was sure that he couldn't hear but they made her feel better.

Everything was working fine, and Ashe had seemed to settle into a more peaceful sleep. She continued with her actions until she felt an intense jolt of pain shoot up her arm, reminding her of the botched spell that she hadn't recovered from yet. Her teeth dug into her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming out. She remained hunched over until the pain dissipated and slowly, she sat up. She was pleased to see that she hadn't awoken Ashe.

After she was sure that he was free from his nightmare, she left the tent knowing she was not going to be able to fall back asleep. It was still dark out and she guessed that it was close to two in the morning. Even if the nightmare hadn't woken her up, she would have done so soon anyway. There was a time when the mask assailants would ambush her around that time and now, she had just started to naturally awake around that time because of them.

She stood outside of her tent and took a deep breath. The cool summer air did little to calm her nerves. She glanced at the tent next to hers, it was Dimitri's and Dedue's and she wanted to peak inside, to have a visual confirmation that Dedue was alive and hopefully well. As much as she wanted to do so she decided against it as she knew it wouldn't be proper.

She was about to sit near the remains of the campfire but stopped when she heard a feint cry. She glanced back at her tent thinking that it was Ashe but as she got closer to hers, she realized that the crying was coming from Dimitri's tent. Throwing her earlier hesitation aside, she peaked her head into the boy's tent. Dedue was by Dimitri's side, who was clearing having an intense nightmare. Seeing Dedue, alive, had been another great relief. When Dedue noticed her, he gave her a pleading look.

Swiftly she made her way over to the other side of Dimitri. He was drenched in sweat, mumbling incoherent words, and held his beadroll in a death grip that was starting to tear, every time he tossed. She called for him softly and she even shook him, but he wasn't going to awake that easily.

She glanced at Dedue, who was watching her carefully. "Oak, I will take care of this," she said, and he gave her a nod, "can you please watch Ashe for me?" He was hesitant to leave but he did after giving her another nod.

She wasn't too worried about Ashe, she did leave him in a decent sleep, but after seeing Dimitri she did want someone to at least check on him. Given past experiences she was sure Dimitri would feel ashamed after waking up and he would prefer Dedue to not be there and see him like that. She wondered in the four years that they were separated did he suffer his nightmares all alone. She hoped that wasn't the case, but she didn't have that much faith in that regard.

She felt the painful jolt run down her arm again, but she ignored it as she continued to channel magic into her hand that she ran through Dimitri's hair. The jolt soon gave away to an intense burning sensation beneath the skin of her arm but despite her body screaming its protest she continued to cast the light Faith spell. Soon she was drenched in sweat and was breathing heavy, but she had succeeded in being able to calm Dimitri some.

Now past the difficult part she ceased casting her spell for her own sake. She knew that he would awaken soon and so she continued to run her fingers through his hair. Quietly, she whispered words of assurance that she was there, and that she wasn't going anywhere, in preparation for when he would finally open his eyes.

Slowly he opened his eyes and his gaze settled on her for a moment. She smiled down at him, when she saw his gaze focusing and wasn't surprised when he turned away from her. Just as when he was younger he didn't ty to stop her from touching him and so she continued to run her fingers through his hair and hum some tavern song she had long forgotten where she heard it or what it was about.

Eventually, he accepted reality and turned to look up at her. Tears were still clinging to the corner of his eyes, but she knew not to try and wipe them away as he would have a violent reaction. She continued to do what she was doing, until most of the tension left him.

"Do you think you will be able to fall back asleep?" she asked, and he simply shook his head no. "Then do you want to join me for some star gazing?" Still not saying anything he just continued to look at her. "We can do something else if you want." He shook his head no.

A silence settled over them and she was fine with that. In the past he would often take some time before he would speak or do anything, and she had no intention of rushing him. She just continued to run her fingers through his hair and hum her little tune.

"I am sorry that I awoke you," he said so quietly as his voice was horse and she simply shook her head.

"I was already awake." He continued to look at her and did nothing else. "Do you still have those nightmares often?" He turned his head away from her. "I am always awake at this time. You can come and visit me if a nightmare awakes you." He turned his head back to look at her. She can see the little response in his eyes and so she smiled softly at him. "You will not be a bother to me. You will never be."

She sat straight and stretched her back. The burning sensation was still there but it had diminished greatly. When she felt the last bit of tension leave her back, she smiled down at him. "Get up and let's go outside." He did not move. "I think a change of scenery will help." She nudged him a little when he still didn't move. Reluctantly, he nodded and began to get up.

As soon as he was out of his bedroll, he latched onto her, by holding her hand a little too tightly. It intensified the pain in her arm more, but she said nothing as she realized that she should have expected that, as in the past he would often hold her in a bone crushing hugs. She did get him to hold her left hand, instead, the numbness in it meant he could hold it even tighter.

"Where is Dedue?" Dimitri asked when they were out of the tent.

"I asked him to watch Ashe for me." He nodded at that and went back to being quiet.

She guided him to sit near the firepit and he did like an obedient, little child. Since they were going to stay awake for the rest of the night, she decided to light the campfire, but he wouldn't let go of her hand to do so. She didn't want to use magic to light the fire as her body was still very much angry at her and so she gave up on the fire. As she looked at the dead firepit she realized that maybe it would be best to not have a fire going. He still hadn't told her what happened during the Tragedy but from the little she caught of his cries during his nightmares, fire had been involved somehow so starting one was probably not going to be a good thing.

The darkness wasn't too bad thanks to the bright moon and the cool summer night wasn't bad either, so they didn't really need a fire. As she was about to sit down, Dimitri maneuvered himself so that he would be on her right side. She didn't understand why until she discovered that it allowed him to hold her left hand as well as wrap an arm around her and keep her as close to him without actually having her siting on his lap. After every nightmare he had when they were children he needed to have physical contact with her, she didn't understand why then but now she believed it's because he needed physical confirmation that she was there and she would gladly give it to him.

Leaning against him she pointed out star constellations that Claude had taught her, or at least what she was sure were the ones he told her. Dimitri was quiet the entire time, but she could tell that he was listening with the slight bob of his head every now and then. She was doing all this to help him feel better, but she found out that it was also having a positive impact on her as well. Her earlier anxiety was a thing of the past.

She had no idea how much time passed, it could have been an hour or even just a few minutes, but Dedue had eventually emerged from her tent with Ashe in tow. They slowly shuffled their way over to the two sitting. Ashe was constantly looking at his feet while Dedue just looked at her. She patted the spot next to her, awkwardly with her right hand, and Ashe sat down next to her but Dedue remained standing.

"Oak, if you wish to go to bed you can. I can handle everything," she said that but had her doubts but those she would keep to herself. He shook his head. She wondered if he had a nightmare as well, but she knew that he would never tell her if he did. He was like her, suffering in silence. "Join us then."

A few seconds did pass before he finally decided to sit next to Dimitri. Once Dedue sat down, Dimitri released her hand, but he still had his arm wrapped around her. The boys were dead silent so Byleth went back to talk about the stars as it was the only thing she could think to do. To her surprise, Dedue had chimed in with a few Duscarian constellations and both Dimitri and Ashe took an interest, though they never spoke. Unfortunately, Dedue went silent when a knight, on patrol, passed by and spoke no more after that.

The group settled into a new silence as she tried to figure out how to break it. Any topics she tried to bring up would only have her talking to herself and she made for a poor conversation partner. She didn't have to struggling alone for long as the girls emerged from their tent to join them. None of them looked like they were getting sleep, well good sleep at least, and Byleth felt guilty for not checking on the rest of her students. Ingrid went to check on Sylvain and Felix after a gesture from Byleth, and now all the students were sitting outside.

A fire was started at the suggestion of Dimitri and Byleth hoped that was a sign that he was doing better. The light of the fire didn't bring the comfort she was hoping for, it just illuminated all the sorrow on her students' faces. She knew a distraction was needed but she didn't know what, and she was sure talking about the starts wasn't going to work. She wished that Sothis was awake to help.

She watched the fire dance, hoping for an idea to strike her. When no idea came, she looked up at the stars and even she didn't want to talk about them. She didn't know if the clear night sky was a blessing or just an insult at how the world was at peace while she and her students were not.

Her gaze dropped to her students and all of them seemed to be lost in their own little world. Hearing a little hiccup, she turned to look at Ashe and discovered that he was holding back his tears. She patted his head but that only seemed to make it harder for him. She needed a distraction and quick and luckily, he gave her an idea, though she had her doubts about being able to pull it off.

She looked back at the fire and remembered back to the one time she camped with Dimitri and Felix. They had been excited about telling stories around the campfire. A story seemed like a good distraction, but she had no confidence in telling one. Glancing at Ashe and Ingrid she wondered if she could read one of the books, she was sure one of them had to have brought; but then again she didn't think anyone was in the mood to hear a story about knights.

If Sothis was awake, Byleth was sure the mysterious girl could tell an interesting story. Byleth realized she could always tell everyone about Sothis as she was sure that would catch their attention. Though she would probably come off as insane to them and her students didn't need another thing to worry about.

She wished Claude was there, he seemed to have no problem telling her stories. All his stories were so farfetched that she still wasn't sure if they were real or not. She would be inclined to believe that he made them up if she didn't have her own fair share of tall tales. Her eyes widen and she finally discovered what to tell them about.

"Would you guys like to hear a story?" she asked a little too excitedly. Everyone was looking at her, but she didn't see any visible interest from anyone, but she just chalked that up to the all the gloom they felt. "My tale may sound absurd, but I assure you that it is one hundred percent true." Now the more curious students were clearly interested.

Her gaze drifted upwards as she recalled the memory. "It happened on a night just like this." She looked back down at everyone and now more people were curious. "I was comfortably asleep, when suddenly I felt a call. I bolted upright in my bedroll in a fright and yet nothing seemed amiss. My father was sound asleep, so I just thought I had imagined it and right when I was about to drift off back to sleep, I felt the call again."

"W-what kind of call was it?" Annette asked as she looked at her professor with large, curious eyes. At least she knew one person was listening to her.

"It was a cry for help." Annette gasped. "But I didn't know at that moment. Still believing that I might just be imagining everything I decided to not wake my father, but I did grab my sword and dagger just to be on the safe side." When she mentioned her weapons, she had spiked even more of her students' interest. "I stood outside my tent wondering what to do. I had no idea what the call was, who was calling me, or where they were calling me from. I didn't even have an idea as to why I was the only one feeling it. Just as I was about to alert," she paused as she felt a sudden pang in her chest at the memory of Muharib, "the mercenary on guard duty, it was then that I had felt the most intense call yet. I began to run towards the lake, because I suddenly just knew that was where the call was coming from."

Annette was on the edge of her seat and though Byleth didn't think it would take all that much to interest her, it was still a nice ego boost to the inexperience storyteller. "I ran straight to the lake and I discovered a," she took a little pause to catch her breath and she discovered that everyone was now watching her carefully. Now that she thought about it, Claude often got her with dramatic pauses. "There was a massive battle going on with about a dozen or so masked people," at the mention of the mask people she saw her friends stiffen but she assured them that she was okay with a little smile, "against a massive, turtle creature."

"A turtle?" Annette gave her a suspicious look and she nodded.

"This wasn't just your run of the mill massive turtle though. It was as big as a house," she could tell that her noble bred students were having a hard time comprehending the beast's size. "It was the size of Garrge Mach's dining hall, if not bigger!" That helped and now Sylvain was watching her with a newfound sparkle in his eyes.

"So, there I was, standing at the forest's edge watching this battle play out before my eyes and I still had no idea who or what was calling me. But based on my past experiences, I knew the mask people were not to be trusted. So, I had two options before me. I could run back to my camp and alert my father and the other mercenaries about what was going on or I could do what my stupid fifteen-year-old self did."

"No," gasped Mercedes and she nodded yes.

"Yes, I choose to join the battle, on the side of the monster turtle."

"By no!" Ingrid shouted.

The professor smiled when she saw Felix snort a little. "I was way in over my head. Powerful spells were being flung around, arrows flew swiftly through the air, and those were nothing compared to the powerful blows that the beast was capable of. And then there was I, just a girl who was decent with a sword and had yet to learn how to cast a spell properly."

"By, you did not!" Sylvain asked.

She gave him a firm nod. "I did." His eyes widen. "Like a fool I rushed in and casted a fire spell that couldn't even light some dead grass on fire." The expressions Annette were making were amusing. "I had the element of surprise and I threw it away in a foolish move that I should have known better." Mercedes was covering her mouth and Annette now clinging to her best friend. "My first opponent was a hulking man that could give Raphael a run for his money and I was easily overwhelmed." Ashe and Dimitri were really into her story now and for that she was glad.

"When I thought I was going to meet my end a commanding voice called to me, ordering me to move and I did just that and right in time to narrowly avoid a powerful jet of water that not only took out my opponent but several other people as well."

"Who did the voice belong too?" Annette asked and Byleth just gave her a knowing look, which an impatient Annette did not appreciate.

"From there I got my act together as I realized that I would not be able to turn back anymore. I was now committed to that fight. I would like to say I was a terrifying force in the battle, but I did very little. I still managed to take out a few people that night, at least." They were watching her so intensely and she wondered if she shouldn't have glossed over the battle so quickly, but she honestly couldn't really remember that part to well.

"With the final person defeated it was just me and the turtle beast left. As I was cleaning myself off the voice called out to me again." Annette's eyes light up. "The voice belonged to the beast!"

"What?" Annette yelled loudly and Byleth glanced behind her, hoping that not too many knights were disturbed by the outburst, and lucky for them, none were. "It talked?" Annette still hadn't realized to lower her volume, so Mercedes had to gently reminder her to do so.

"Yes, the turtle creature spoke to me. He thanked me for helping him and told me that his name was Indech."

"Wait," Mercedes interrupted, "you met a strange creature that shared its name with one of the four saints?"

"Yeah," she answered hesitantly. She just stared at Mercedes until something clicked. In Sreng, she and Claude were following a trail of Saint Macuil and they discovered another talking beast. A beast that also called her Sothis. What did that all mean? What was Sothis' connection to them? How where the saints involved? She wasn't sure if she wanted to fall into some church conspiracy. She would like to keep her church involvement to a minimum as possible.

"By?" Dimitri called for her and with a light touch on her shoulder she jolted out of her thoughts. His hands slide down her side to intertwined with hers and she didn't really pay it too much attention. She looked at all of her students, who were looking at her.

"I have proof that that had happened." Their looks of concern were replaced with curious ones. She pulled out her necklace and held it up high for all to see. "The beast imbued my necklace with some of his power as thanks for helping him."

Gasps rang out amongst the students. Byleth let everyone pass around her necklace when it got to Sylvain, he asked for Annette to blast him with a fireball, which the mage was more than happy to do so. She was a bit worried, but she was happy to discover that the enchantment just didn't work only on her.

As everyone commented on the necklace or tired it out for themselves, Byleth leaned on Dimitri, who had yet to move. He did look at her when she nudged him to do so. His eyes were clear, and she had hoped that her story had helped to distract him from his nightmare, even if it was just for a moment.

"You once asked me, 'how you were supposed to know that I was okay'." He hummed and that was his response. "Well I want you to rest easy as your necklace helped to save my life several times." Instead of the smile she was hoping for, he gave her a small frown.

"I did not do anything. And it was the creature's power that saved you not the necklace I gave you nor me," he said as his gaze drifted back over to everyone.

"That is not true," She tugged on his arm so that he would look at her again. "I was only able to get that enhancement because of the necklace you gave me. I am only able to be by your side right now because of you! So, thank you!" His eyes had widened for a moment before settling into a fond look.

She smiled up at him and he pulled her closer to him so that he could kiss her forehead. She stared at him, not sure what to make of all that but the warmth that spread from her chest was greatly welcomed. He continued to stare at her with a look as if she was his everything, a look she was lost too and that was okay with her.

* * *

A/N: Everyone else had to pretend that like they were not witnessing two idiot lovebirds being stupidly romantic.

I will admit that I don't know where the ending came from but don't get used to it. The angst isn't over yet!

I knew the post battle part was going to be long, but I did not think it was going to be this long. I originally had planned for this chapter to end further along but the post battle had other ideas.

As for my other story I have an idea of what I want to do with it (amazing how not wanting to working on homework can give such great inspiration), but I decided that I won't work on it until I'm done with school. Which will just be a few more weeks to go!


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: A slightly shorter than normal chapter but I thought the ending was too good to extend it. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Fourth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

The trek back to Garreg Mach had been slow, incredibly slow, but that could have just felt like that to Byleth as she had barely gotten any sleep since before the battle. Her body desperately needed sleep, and yet she couldn't. The deaths of Dedue, Ashe, and Muharib just wouldn't stop haunting her and she would quickly awaken. Before the battle she never had dreamt before and now she wished to return to how it was before.

She was not the only one to be plagued by nightmares, Ashe and Dimitri did as well; she also suspected others, but they never said anything. To help alleviate some of the boys' suffering, she had been pushing her body to cast light Faith spells. Because she hadn't allowed her body the chance to recover, each spell took a great toll on her. It was only a matter of time before she would collapse, but luckily Catherine stepped in.

On the fourth day of marching Catherine had enough and ordered Byleth to rest in the supply cart. It was incredibly cramped and uncomfortable; she didn't even think the most exhausted person would be able to sleep in it. Catherine had been on top of that and had ordered a healer to put Byleth to sleep. The professor had felt guilty about getting sleep but knew that she needed it and accepted the magically inducing sleep. She spent the entire day resting.

When it came time to set up camp, Catherine finally woke up Byleth. The former mercenary's body was incredibly stiff, but she felt so much better. Sothis had finally awaken too and Byleth wondered if the mysterious girl's exhaustion had been tied to hers, but there was no way to find out, without forcing Byleth to forgo sleep again.

The still exhausted professor was about to head over to the students' side of the camp when Catherine stopped her. "I didn't just wake you up because you were in the way," the knight said as she proceeded to drag Byleth away from the campsite. "I have some important news that I have been trying to discuss with you for the past few days."

Outside of camp and all alone, Catherine finally released Byleth. Wordlessly, she handed the former mercenary a rolled-up letter. Not really in the mood to read over something, Byleth just skimmed it, but she quickly chose to read it instead. Her eyes widen and she looked at Catherine for confirmation, who had dropped her cheerful attitude.

"I found it on Lord Lonato," Catherine explained and Byleth had to be mindful to not crumple the letter in a death grip.

The professor looked over the letter again and she just couldn't believe what she was reading, even though she knew she should. He wasn't shy about sharing his hatred for the church and the archbishop and yet, something just didn't feel right about it. Why would he hold onto such an important thing in battle? She was sure he knew that he would fall and that was why he sent Ashe away, but why have this? This could have been his back up plan but holding onto it, would almost guarantee for it to be revealed to the enemy.

"We can't tell who sent it," Catherine began and so Byleth went back to looking at the knight. "So, the source is suspect, but the content is too disturbing to ignore."

The professor nodded in agreement. "I agree but why are you sharing this with me? I'm just a professor."

"Your skills are too great to ignore." Really? Was that enough to tell her such a thing? And she was sure she didn't show any such skills in that battle. "And Lady Rhea, really trust you." Byleth pressed her lips together as she looked at the knight. "Your actions have proved that your loyalty lies elsewhere." Even if she hadn't known Dimitri beforehand, how could anyone expect for Byleth to build a strong loyalty to the church in two months? Despite some incredible circumstances she was a mercenary, normally her loyalty would be to money, her father, and her skills.

"But I have the most trust in Lady Rhea," the knight began and Byleth snapped out of her thoughts, "and for reasons I do not know she has great faith in you." The older woman's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "I do not know what your intentions are but if they are malicious, I will not hesitate to cut you down."

Byleth was no stranger to threats. She couldn't count the number of times she received one, but Catherine's was different. Catherine had the skills to back up her threat, especially when wielding Thunderbrand. A silence settled over them as the women stared each other down.

Byleth was the first to break eye contact as she briefly looked down at the letter, in her hands. Rolling it up, she handed it back to the other woman. Catherine snatched it back and didn't break her stare in the process.

"Are you not going to say anything?"

The professor started to stretch her back, continuing to ignore the glare. "You are not the first to threaten me," she answered as she twisted her torso back and forth, "and with how my life has been going you will probably not be the last."

There was a bit of a pause for a moment before Catherine broke out into a laugh fit, causing Byleth to stop and stare. The tension was gone the more the knight laughed. Eventually, Catherine smacked Byleth across the back so hard that the younger woman stumbled forward a bit.

"You're an interesting gal!" Catherine wrapped an arm around Byleth's shoulder and began to drag her back to camp. "Let's get some dinner."

Byleth didn't mind the close contact but it did make walking a bit difficult. Eventually, she got fed up and pushed Catherine off her but continued to walk next to the other woman. If the blonde cared, she didn't show it.

"About the letter," Byleth quietly brought up and she got a raised eyebrow from her companion and that was her only sign that Catherine was listening. "How many people know about it?"

"Right now?" Byleth nodded. "Just you and me." Her eyes widen. "If word got out about this, it would cause a riot and that would put Ashe in a tight spot." Byleth could see that happening and she was afraid that it would. "I don't need you punching all my knights." The former mercenary smirked as she would have no problem doing such a thing.

"So, that's why you made sure we were alone?"

"That and I couldn't really threaten you in front of Prince Dimitri. I don't really want to make the Prince of Faerghus my enemy." Byleth laughed at that.

**Fifth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Both Byleth and Catherine stood before the archbishop and Seteth in the Audience Chamber. Catherine gave her report and Byleth just commented on a few things that reflected differently on hers. It was going just as what she expected but the knight never voiced her suspicion of Byleth and sort of glossed over the part where Byleth punched a knight. It took everything for the professor to not stare at Catherine, like she was mad.

When the reports were finished Catherine handed over the letter. The archbishop quickly scanned it before crushing the letter in a strong grip. The holy woman's gaze was fierce and deadly, just like how it was when Byleth challenged her authority before the mission; though Byleth concede that it was at least fitting this time.

"So, they wish to try and assassinate me on the day of the Goddess' Rite of Rebirth? Preposterous!" the archbishop said and finished off with a dark chuckle. Seteth's eyes went wide but he didn't say anything. Byleth glanced at Catherine from the corner of her eyes and was disappointed to discover no change in the knight's stance or expression. Blind loyalty was scary and Byleth felt like a hypocritic for thinking that. She had a hard time picturing herself acting differently if she was in Catherine's position and Dimitri was in the archbishop's. Though, Byleth hoped to save Dimitri from his darkness before he can fall into such a low.

"To try to attack the archbishop on such a holy day is ludicrous but a threat is a threat," Seteth spoke up and he was a picture of calm, almost like he had already been aware of the information. "We must maintain a constant vigilance." Byleth nodded at that as she would have done so without their request, but she did wonder if she should alert them to her suspicions. It still made no sense to her that Lord Lonato would keep such an important letter on him during a battle of life and death. When she remembered how Lord Rodrigue responded to her suspicions about Lord Arundel, she found herself losing her confidence.

"For your mission for this month." She snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Seteth was addressing her. "I would like for you and your students to help with security on the day of the ritual." Finally, a decent mission. She gave him a firm nod.

"That is most reassuring. You have my gratitude," the archbishop said and Byleth had to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"The archbishop and I will be confined to the Goddess Tower once the ritual begins," Seteth explained. "Of course, the knights will be on high alert as well, but there are not enough of them to keep watch on every corner of the monastery."

Not counting all the assassination attempts on her life, this would be Byleth's third time dealing with assassins as it seemed like fate liked throwing them at her. She wondered if she could consider herself an expert on handling such threats after this. Though that would only work if this were an actual attempt on the archbishop's life.

"It is far from ideal to be forced to mobilize students, but the gravity of this situation requires that we all band together to avoid breaking." She nearly scoffed at his words. Sending children into a war was okay but having them on guard duty was absurd? She struggled greatly to keep her expression impassive.

"While there is no need to fear for my safety," the archbishop spoke again," we cannot turn a blind eye to those who would blaspheme so heinously."

"You can count on us, Lady Rhea!" Catherine said and Byleth sort of forgot that she was there. "We shall keep you safe!" The archbishop smiled warmly at the knight, who in turn was beaming because of it.

"With any luck, this will be all for naught," Seteth said. "Still, be on your guard."

With that, Byleth gave the church officials a nod, while Catherine bowed. They both turned their backs to leave when the archbishop called for Byleth to stay behind. Catherine gave the professor a small glare before leaving. Seteth stayed behind for a second before excusing himself after a brief whispered conversation with the archbishop. The women were alone and Byleth had to take a deep breath to keep her frustration from showing.

The archbishop kept up her normal little smile, but it grew as soon as the doors closed behind Seteth. She stepped forward and gently placed her hands on the younger woman's face. Startled, Byleth jerked her head back. Without thinking Byleth took a few step backs to create some distance again.

A slight pained expression flashed over the archbishop's face before it returned to her normal, even one. "Forgive me for starting you." Still trying to comprehend what just happened Byleth muttered out her forgiveness. "I was just so glad to see that you have returned." The archbishop's eyes flickered to Byleth's bandaged hand for a second. "I am thankful that the goddess is gracious with her divine protection."

Byleth struggled to keep her expression neutral. There was no divine protection in that battle. It was hell and she nearly lost two of her students in that madness. Students that should have had no business fighting in a war! If the goddess really cared, wouldn't she had stopped it before it started?

"But it was not only divine protection that shielded you, was it? You are just as skilled as I had hoped."

Of course, she was. She did that for a living, but her students didn't. It only should have been her sent into battle with the knights. Maybe then she could have been of better use, instead of the mess she became.

"My students deserve the praise," she said as she looked right into the archbishop's eyes. She wanted the archbishop to acknowledge the hard work she forced on students still new to battle. Especially the stress she put on Ashe.

"I am not so sure." Byleth narrowed her eyes. "I heard some of the students were…hesitant about fighting militia."

_Of course, they were!_ _They were children sent off to fight in a war and against one of their friends' fathers too!_ _You sent the prince to kill his own citizens!_ Byleth wanted to scream all that out but didn't because of Sothis reminding her to behave.

"However, we must punish any sinners who may inflict harm upon believers, even if those sinners are civilians." Byleth balled her fists tightly and bite her tongue. She would understand with wanting to protect people, but she didn't agree with the church's methods. "I pray the students learned a valuable lesson about the fate that awaits all those who are foolish enough to point their blades towards the heavens." Did the archbishop just forget about Byleth's outburst before the mission or was she just trying to provoke another outburst? It was only by Sothis' constant reminders to remain calm that the former mercenary just stood stiff as a board.

"May I see your hand?" the archbishop asked, and it snapped Byleth out of her little happy place that Sothis had directed her too; it was just her emptying her mind.

It took the younger woman a second to register that the archbishop wished to see her bandaged hand. A bit hesitantly, she gave the older woman her hand and received a slightly, larger smile for doing so. The archbishop placed her other hand over it and Byleth could feel the warmth of Faith magic that would have no effect.

The archbishop stared down at their hands for a moment before glancing up at Byleth. There was a new look in the holy woman's eyes that Byleth didn't know what to make of it. Once again, the archbishop channeled Faith magic into the bandaged hand but that time it was an alarming amount of magic that was able to surpass the resistance her necklace provided. Byleth pulled back her hand when it was done and looked at it, despite the bandages hiding the visual proof, the pain in her hand was completely gone and her body was lighter, letting her know that she was no longer suffering from the affects of her botched spell. Unable to even fathom the words to reflect her shock, she just stared at the archbishop, who still had that weird look.

"I just sensed a great power from you," the archbishop said in atone that Byleth wasn't sure what to make of it. It sounded like the archbishop was trying to contain a great amount of joy. Joy at what? Was that power what she was expecting of Byleth? Eager to disappoint the former mercenary removed her necklace and handed it to the archbishop, whose eyes widen upon holding it.

"It's not my power," Byleth took a little too much joy in saying, "it was gifted to me for helping a strange creature."

The archbishop's smile grew as she clutched the necklace to her chest. While the holy woman's joy skyrocketed, Byleth's deflated at an alarming rate. The younger woman struggled to not show her displeasure when the archbishop stepped towards her.

"You say it was a creature that bestowed this power onto you?" Unable to trust her voice Byleth could only nod. "Was it a massive beast that could speak?" She narrowed her eyes but nodded. "Incredible! To think you would meet such a creature! The goddess surely smiles upon you favorably!"

"I…I do not understand," Byleth said after she found her voice.

"My child. My sweet, dear child," the archbishop said with such unabashed joy that Byleth wished to run away. With an unparalleled grace the archbishop directed the professor's sight upwards towards the massive stained-glass window that would paint the room in dazzling colors when the sun would set. On the outside of the circled window were the symbols of each crest, interesting in its own right but it was the center imagine that was the most eye catching. At the top of the center was the image of a beautiful winged woman that Byleth was sure was the goddess, and at the bottom dyed in purples was a woman in white and four other people stood in the back, and she assumed that those were the saints. But in the middle is what caught Byleth's attention it was a massive white dragon that reminded her of Indech in some strange way.

Having her fill, she returned her attention back onto the archbishop. "That creature you meet was a creature blessed by the goddess. Saint Serios, herself, received help from a similar creature, the Immaculate One." Byleth didn't like where all this was going. "The fact that you received the blessing from such a creature means that the goddess must expect great things from you!" Hearing that did not make Byleth feel happy at all.

Byleth stood awkwardly in place, not sure of what to say or do. Was the archbishop expecting her be the next coming of Saint Serios? Why? She only received that power because she helped Indech, not because he was expecting something of her…right? The fact that it and the other strange creature, in Sreng, called her Sothis was bothering her more than ever. What did Sothis have to do with all this? She could feel the mysterious girl frown and shake her head. The girl had no answers and Byleth was terrified of telling the archbishop about her and so Byleth would remain silent on that subject.

"About my punishment," Byleth said, in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

The archbishop stopped her examining of the necklace to smile widely at the professor. She stepped forward again and was standing far to close for Byleth's comfort as she helped Byleth wear her necklace again. The former mercenary stood perfectly still throughout the whole process. When the necklace was secured in place the archbishop cupped Byleth's face, who dared not to move.

"My dear child, you do not need to worry about that. From what I heard the knight is to blame and is deserving of such an action."

Byleth wanted a punishment. She knew full well at how people got jealous and would lash out at her when she was showed such favoritism. But despite that she didn't argue and said nothing. She just wanted to hurry up and leave.

**Early Morning of the Sixth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Dimitri awoke in a cold sweat. His body felt so incredibly heavy as he could still fell the hands of the dead clawing at him. Just as he had done every time after he and Byleth were separated he curled into a ball and waited for the voices of the dead to grow tired of him. He never knew how long it would take for the voice to be done with him, but his body always felt so stiff as he uncurled himself each time.

Since he tried starting to keep his distance from Byleth again, he had a nightmare every night. He had accepted it as punishment for his negligence, but after the battle with Lord Lonato they became more intense. The battle had reminded him of that night four years ago. It was horrible but he would have been okay with it if it wasn't for Byleth.

When she first awoke him, the night of the battle, with the same gentle method that she used to take care of him with right after the Tragedy, he found his resolve weakening and his method useless. Her gentle caresses, her soft voice, and her patience with him; it was all too much for him. It was so wonderful. He wanted more. For her to take away his pain to bring back the happiness that allowed him to forget his quest for revenge. She was absolutely wonderful, but at the same time, so very cruel.

He continued to sit on his bed for a few more minutes. The last traces of his nightmare and Byleth's touch retreated to the far reaches of his mind. His body felt so heavy as he walked over to the window. The moon was shining brightly in the night sky and he sighed. It was going to be a long night for him.

His gaze drifted downwards almost as if it were being pulled towards that direction and he could see two people talking, a knight and Byleth. He shoved the curtain closed and turned his back towards the window. He wanted her gentle touch. To hear such sweet words of her promising to stay with him. He so desperately wanted those things that he did not deserve.

His body went ridged as he felt hands grip him and pull him down towards the floor. He dropped to his knees and felt a particularly strong grip on his neck. He looked forward as if he could see the person, choking him. A shiver ran down his spine, as the voice of his father began to speak.

"You will give us our revenge," his father said in a fury that Dimitri had long forgotten if his father ever spoke without it. "You had your little fun, now hurry and give us what we demand!"

He tried to swallow but the grip on his neck prevented him from doing so. He continued to stare forward, imagining the look of disgust that his father surely had. Tears spilled from his eyes as he imagined the hatred from the people that once loved him, must be feeling after his brief moment of abandoning them. Or did they never hold any love for him to begin with?

"I will," he chocked out in a tiny whisper. "I will give you your revenge. I promise."

The grip on his neck vanished and he began to cough violently. He hunched forward and cried, he felt so alone. He had no right to be wanting such happiness. Wanting such comfort and peace. His mind, his body, his everything belonged to the dead so that they may have their revenge. Byleth's kindness was wasted on a wretched fool like him.

There was a knock at the door, and he jumped. He stared at the door, unsure if he heard it or if it was just a trick of his mind. There was another knock and he got onto his feet, but he did not move from his spot. He continued to stare at the door waiting for the universe to respond for him.

"Your highness?" Dedue called from the other side and Dimitri didn't realize how grateful he would be to have someone else at that moment. "Are you awake?"

"Yes!" he shouted, despite not meaning too. Without thinking he lunged for the door and he nearly ripped the door off its hinges in his desperation to open the door. For a brief moment Dedue flinched but just as quickly returned to his more normal, stoic stance. "What can I do for you?"

"Byleth would like for you to come visit her." The smile on Dimitri's face dropped along with his heart. His gaze drifted towards their feet and his grip on the doorknob was incredibly weak. He opened his mouth to say something but there were no words he could think to say; no words that could properly convey his turmoil.

"She suspected you had a nightmare." Dimitri was back to looking at his friend. How did she know? He laughed through his nose because of course, she would know. Was fate testing him? Seeing if he truly had the resolve to stay away from her?

"I…," he stopped so that he could add some more strength to his voice, "I am fine." That was all he had the confidence in saying, anymore and he feared his voice would betray him.

"She suspected you might say that and urged me to convince you to come." He scowled briefly, but it vanished just as quickly as it came. Why did she have to be so damn perceptive? How did she still know him so well? Did he not change in the four years they were separated? She did. She changed so much. She was so much stronger, so much more experienced, more confident, and so much more. And her kindness, that damnable kindness, was still the same and he was still seeking it out.

He gripped his pants' legs as if that would be enough to hold him back. He needed to stay strong and yet it was so hard. For four years, he thought little of anything else besides getting revenge and yet she was challenging all that. He was weak, so very weak.

He opened his mouth to tell Dedue that, but his voice was nowhere to be found. Weakly, he just shook his head. He hung his head as he couldn't bring himself to look at his friend anymore.

"I also believe that you should see her." Dimitri bite his lower lip, in a desperate attempt to hold back his tears. "You always look so much better being by her side after having a nightmare." Dimitri bite harder to the point where he could feel the warmth of blood on his tongue. Why was Dedue trying to destroy his resolve?

Did Dedue have any idea how much of a fool Dimitri had been since he reunited with Byleth? What would the Duscarian man think, if he knew that his friend had forgotten all about getting revenge for two months? The revenge that Dimitri wanted was not just for the dead, but it was also for him and Dedue. To kill those vile fools that stole their families from them.

"If you will not come for yourself, will you at least come for Ashe?" Dimitri looked up and Dedue stared down at him, with his normal, stoic expression. "Byleth allowed him to stay in her room as he had been suffering from nightmares as well. She hasn't stated it, but I am sure she could use some help."

The prince's gaze dropped again as he once again lost himself to his thoughts. He needed to keep his distance from Byleth but if Ashe was suffering…He wanted to help Ashe. He would help Ashe! If he saw her with that mindset of being there for Ashe than he should be okay. He just needed to focus on Ashe and nothing more. He could do that. He would do that.

As they neared Byleth's room, Dimitri got cold feet and stopped at the stairs that led up to hers and Dedue's rooms. The light shinning from her window was so inviting, like a beacon in the night, a stunning beacon of hope. He wanted the false salvation she would bring and yet he could not grasp it. He needed to remain lost in the dark.

Dedue called out to him and broke him out of his thoughts. He turned to his friend, and away from the light. So, desperate was he for contact with someone that he didn't even realize that it was late for his friend to be up.

"By didn't wake you up to go get me, did she?" he asked and Dedue simply shook his head no as his response. Dimitri expected that. She wouldn't do that, but that meant that Dedue had been awake for another reason. "Did…did you also awake from a nightmare?" It was a personal question and Dimitri felt bad for asking about it, even if he knew he would not get an answer. He knew full well that Dedue would choose to suffer in silence like he also preferred, until he felt such a gentle touch again.

Dimitri wanted to turn around and run. He could already feel his resolve weakening and yet he found himself rooted in place. Thinking about Ashe, Dimitri found the resolve to step forward. Or was it just the convenient excuse he wanted?

He knocked on the door firmly, and shrunk into himself when he heard her voice welcoming him in. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door. As soon as he laid eyes upon her, he felt his heart constrict.

Ashe sat incredibly close to her, eyes red and swollen. Dimitri tried so very hard to focus only on Ashe but he couldn't and he knew deep down, from the very beginning that all his attempts would have been futile; and it did not help him in the slightest when Dedue had directed him to sit in front of her. She wore such a warm, comforting smile, while she greeted him but the bags under her eyes gave him a glimpse of the secret she was hiding.

He had basked in her comfort during the march back to Garreg Mach, completely ignoring the suffering she was in. He was appalled at himself for ignoring it so much that she needed to be magically induced to be put to sleep. It was just more proof that he needed to avoid her; it would also be for her own benefit. He did nothing for the dead and he could do nothing for her but bring her down. He was always holding her back.

A light touch on his arm jolted him back to reality. Warm, steel-blue eyes looked up at him. Those same steel-blue eyes that made him believe that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be alright and that it was fine for him to live for himself. He gave her a small nod when he realized she had asked him a question and he looked away; though, he had no idea what the question was.

It took a second before she pulled her hand back and he instantly felt empty without her warmth. He was vaguely aware of the playing cards she was handing out and was even less aware of the rules she was explaining. Despite his turmoil he could at least take comfort in knowing that Ashe seemed to be looking better, or at least he hoped his fellow student was doing better.

Even if he had been properly listening when the directions were being given out, Dimitri was sure that the card game, they were playing, would still be confusing. It was some game he never heard, and he wasn't surprised to hear that it was something Claude had taught her. It was a game that required great focus, but his distracted mind was unable to keep up with it. While he was having a hard time, it seemed that the others were having a good time, at least.

After a few more games and a cup of chamomile tea later, he found himself relaxing enough to forget about his earlier worries. Everything had started to work out greatly for him, until Ashe fell asleep. The boy needed sleep, there was nothing wrong with that; but he fell asleep while using Byleth's lap as a pillow and again there would have been nothing wrong with that. What was bothering the prince was how Byleth kept running her hands through Ashe's hair. It was the same gesture she comforted him with and he knew it shouldn't bother him, that Ashe needed all the comfort he could get; but if Dimitri couldn't have that comfort he didn't want anyone else too, well at least not for anyone to receive it from Byleth.

"Aster," she called, and he snapped out of his thoughts. He didn't realize he was staring until that moment; he hoped he wasn't glaring. "Come here." She patted the open spot to her right. He didn't get up at first but the continue patting eventually got him to move.

At first, he tried to sit with some distance between them, but she wouldn't have it and he was forced to sit closer. He stared at the desk, before him as he desperately tried to ignore the pounding in his heart. He froze when she guided his head to rest against her shoulder. When he came to his senses, he tried to pull away, but she wouldn't allow it. Her grip was something that he could break with ease, but he couldn't bring himself to do so; especially not when she started to run her fingers through his hair. He found his resolve to break away greatly diminishing with each new round her fingers started.

It wasn't long after that did Dedue excuse himself. Byleth tried to stop him but he left as she couldn't persuade him to stay. Dimitri could not tell if his friend were being honest about needing to sleep because he had to wake up early, or if he left so that Dimitri could have some alone time with Byleth. Either way, the prince was alone with his love when he shouldn't be. He needed to leave quickly but he couldn't bring himself to get up.

When Byleth started to hum some song, he didn't recognize, he found himself drifting off. He didn't deserve this. He deserved this. His mind would argue back and forth, with no clear winner to be found.

Forcing his eyes open to fight off sleep, he stared at her desk. It was devoid of any personal touches like the desk she once possessed when she had a room in the castle. It brought a feint smile to his face when he realized that not everything about her had changed. It was a small comfort that he latched onto.

He wouldn't allow himself to sleep, not yet at least. "By," he called so softly that he wasn't sure if he even said her name. Her humming stopped so he took that as a sign that he did say it. "How did you know that I had a nightmare?"

"I saw you closing your window," she said just as softly as he did. "That was the only reason why I could think that could explain why you are awake at this time."

"When you were talking with that knight?"

"That knight is Wil, you remember him, right?" He furrowed his brows as he couldn't recall the person. It was strange that he couldn't remember the man, he thought he as aware of all the men that she was close too. "He was apart of my father's mercenary company. He helped to protect you on the night when we were reunited." Ah, that explained it. That night Dimitri's focus was entirely on Byleth and he could remember little outside of her and the bandits' attack.

"He became a guard here, instead of leaving with the rest of the company. He's often stationed as a gatekeeper." So, that was why she was so close to that one gatekeeper. That fact wasn't sitting well with him.

"Are you close with him?"

"Yes." He didn't mean too but his displeasure was very clear on his face, but she didn't seem to notice. "He joined the company last year and was the first person in the company to be close to my age. We became friends quickly. His mother is sick, so he became a mercenary to help take care of her but now he has a safer job to do so."

Byleth once told him that she wasn't used to being so close to a man before, but he was starting to have his doubts. He did not think of her as a liar, but she often resorted to such close interactions with almost everyone she interacted with. Granted that time she had told him that was during a time when they were in an intimate closeness, but they were currently in a similar closeness, even how she had Ashe on her lap could be considered intimate. She could have had such similar interactions with Will and not even know it.

If Byleth was close to Will then maybe it was a good thing for Dimitri, even if that thought made him feel incredibly bitter. If Byleth was in a… If her heart belonged to… His mind couldn't even finish those thoughts because his heart refused to accept them. But if she were with another…as painful as that thought was, his heart would have to accept it and he could focus more on his revenge.

He hated that thought. Despised it! And yet if it were to come true… He didn't want to think of it anymore and turned his face towards her shoulder. He breathed in deeply of her scent of jasmine and there was a new mix to it, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. To have her warmth belong to another was just too painful to think about.

"Aster?" she called, and he lifted his face to peek at her.

Their faces were so close, the closest yet since he kissed her when he was twelve. He brushed some of her hair out of her face, but he didn't pull back his hand and basked in her warmth that he wanted to covet it all for himself. He wished he wasn't wearing gloves, but he didn't dare pull his hand back. Her fingers stopped their movement and rested on the back of his neck, holding him in place, like he was doing to her.

It would be so easy to kiss her. To give up everything and accept her false salvation. To claim her before anyone else could dare to do such a vile thing. To surrender his entire being to her and pray that she would do the same. Oh, how he so desperately wanted to do that. To give himself over to her beautiful lie that everything was alright, but it wouldn't be, and he couldn't.

So easily his fingers slide away from her and the stinging cold of reality assaulted his now exposed fingers. Silently, he got up and she called out to him. He ignored her question. He ignored her pleas to stay as he closed the door behind him. The cool summer breeze on any other night would have felt hot to him but on that night, it felt colder than even the coldest, Faerghus's, winter night as he rushed back to his room.

Once the door to his room was closed shut, he slide down against it. He brought his knees up to his chest and pressed the palms of his hands into his face. It hurt. It hurt so very much. If he knew rejecting her was going to be this painful than he wished they were never reunited. He wished to have never been reminded of her warmth.

"You finally choose wisely, my pitiful son," his father sneered.

* * *

A/N: The angst continues!

So, I'm close to starting finals (got one more week before they start) but this does mean that I have more papers again. Yay! I would say to expect some delays from me but given my track record, I don't know. I guess don't be surprised if the next chapter is delayed.

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy!


	29. Bonus Chapter

A/N: Right now, we are all in the middle of some dark times and I know many of us are having a hard time dealing with it (I know I am). Right now, my story is the middle of some angsty stuff that can bring down a person's mood, and to give all my lovely readers a little break from it and the world's troubles I decided to write a little fluff piece. Because I don't know about you all, but I could use a little positivity or something nice to read about now.

I imagine this little bonus chapter takes places a few weeks after Glenn was so kind enough to teach Byleth what a mistress was.

Ages:

Byleth: 12

Dimitri: 9

For those of you angry that this is not a proper update, I am sorry. I will get to the next chapter as soon as I can. My finals are still going to happen so it might be a small while for the next chapter.

* * *

**Guardian Moon 1172:**

Byleth stared at the frozen pond before her. She and Dimitri had run across it numerous times so she knew that it was safe to be on it but running across it with blades on her feet didn't seem right to her. Even though both Dimitri and King Lambert had assured her that it was safe, it still wasn't sitting well with her. Besides being over a frozen pond, how can having sharp blades on the bottom of her boots be safe?

"Do you need help securing your blades?" King Lambert asked. She looked up at him briefly before looking down at the blades attached to her boots. She thought they were secured but she had no idea. He gave her a smile before checking on her boots, when he was confident in them, he gave her a nod.

"By! Hurry up!" Dimitri shouted already skating on the pond and she wondered how he got out there so quickly.

"Slow down, Dimitri. Remember this is By's first time, you need to be patient."

Before that day, she had never heard of ice skating and she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. It was supposedly a popular activity in the Kleiman domain and that was where Dimitri got to experience first when he had his ninth birthday at Castle Kleiman, earlier that year. When he returned from his trip, he was so eager to show her it.

Apparently, it was done over lakes or large rivers but because of the assassination attempt a few moons ago, King Lambert had refused to let the kids leave the castle, especially when Byleth was still recovering. Dimitri was mad until he remembered the pond in the back of the castle's grounds. It wasn't largest enough to skate properly, but it would be a perfect area for Byleth to practice on.

With some help from King Lambert, she was on her feet and she was already having some doubts. How can anyone maintain their balance on thin, little blades? This was not a safe activity at all, that she was sure of. She struggled with walking to the pond's edge and King Lambert even had to help prevent her from falling at one point.

With an ease that annoyed her a little, Dimitri skated right to the pond's edge to meet her. Smiling brightly, he held out his hands to her. With a little frown, she refused. If Dimitri could do it, then she should have no problem doing so, as well. Her confidence went out the window as soon as her right foot touched the ice and she fell.

"By, are you okay?" Dimitri asked, while King Lambert was too busy laughing. That time when he offered her his hands she accepted.

With Dimitri's help she managed to get one foot on the ice with little issue but as soon as her other foot was on the ice, she had nearly toppled over him when she slipped. It was decided that they would take it slow (not that she had any choice to refuse). She held onto his hands in tight grips as he led her to the center of the pond.

Halfway towards the lake, she thought she had gotten the hang of it, but when she tired to increase their speed, her legs went wide, and she nearly ended up doing an unprepared split. Dimitri winced as he tried to awkwardly help her get up. She was grateful that swordplay had made her flexible or she might have been done for the count after that.

They continued the same slow pace until they got to the middle and his excitement go the better of him as he began to spin her. With no footing to support herself she was at his mercy. It wasn't until his father shouted his name that Dimitri realized what he was doing. Unfortunately, in embarrassment Dimitri had let go of her and she slide across the pond and crashed on the pond's edge.

She had received a bloody nose from colliding against a rock in her crash. Dimitri and King Lambert were quickly at her side. King Lambert healed her nose, while Dimitri apologized profusely. Patting the prince on his head a few times helped him calm down enough so that they could try again.

It wasn't long after that did a tiny pout form on her face. She just couldn't understand why she wasn't getting the hang of it. She normally had such good balance so she should have been able to grasp skating with ease, especially if clumsy Dimitri had no problems.

After her fifth time landing on her bottom, she gave up and in a rare moment of sheer stubbornness from her, she refused to get up and sat in the middle of the pond. King Lambert kept laughing, while Dimitri kept circling around her trying to encourage her to get up. In a bit of annoyance and embarrassment she refused to look at either of them, and Dimitri made that difficult for her.

Eventually the little prince resorted to his own tactic and scooped her up. Ignoring all her complaints he began to skate around while carrying her bridal style, almost as if she weighed nothing. He laughed happily, while she gave him a little glare. It didn't take long for her little glare to morph into her small smile as she realized that she was enjoying it.

After Dimitri had his fill of skating around, while carrying her, they decided to stop for the day as twilight was upon them. Byleth didn't like being out at night because no matter how many layers she wore, she just couldn't handle a Faerghus' winter night, outside the comfort of the castle's walls. Someday she hoped to be strong enough to handle the cold nights so she could play longer with Dimitri outside.

To help warm up the kid, they had their baths and then they had a little tea party and King Lambert had joined them after finishing up some of his work that he had been neglecting. Dimitri kept trying to make sure if Byleth had a good time. While she was annoyed that she never could get the hang of it, she did enjoy it somewhat. Despite her trying to assure him that she did, he did not stop asking until she shoved a cookie in his mouth and King Lambert laughed at that.

Once the cookie was swallowed Dimitri ceased asking about if she liked ice skating and immediately started discussing their plans for the next day. King Lambert was watching with a warm smile as his son happily dictated their plans, while Byleth just nodded along. She just quietly sipped her tea and said little, until the prince brought up ice skating again and she was a bit hesitant.

When he started to press her about it again; she relented and agreed to it. She did have fun while he was carrying her around. King Lambert had told her that practice makes perfect and that Dimitri fell a lot on his first try, so she shouldn't give up just yet. She would give it another try to please her friend; she just hopped her bottom wouldn't hurt so much on the second try.

During all the planning her father walked in and she ran up to him. He smiled down at her before addressing the royals. He barely had a chance to sit down before Dimitri started to tell him all about his and Byleth's day.

When it got to the ice skating she had taken over. "Aster and King-" she started but stopped when King Lambert cleared his throat. "…Lambert took me ice skating!" Jeralt barely got to voice his surprise before Byleth went on to explain what it was. The fathers looked at her with fond, little smiles. "At the end, I got tired of falling so Aster carried me around like a princess!"

"By, is super light!" Dimitri innocently added. "It made it really easy to do so!"

Her father kept smiling though there was a dark, little glint in his eyes that had her tilting her head. "Yes!" King Lambert quickly said. "My nine-year-old son," she thought it was weird that he mentioned Dimitri's age when her father already knew. "Is quite strong thanks to the Crest of Blaiddyd, you see?" The king had a little awkward laugh at the end. She also thought it was weird that he mentioned the Crest of Bladdyd because it was her father that had warned her about the ridiculous strength it bestowed upon those that possessed it.

Her father still had his smile and dark glint as he patted her head. "What else did you guys do?"

"After ice skating we came inside and took a bath-" she said before being interrupted.

"Separately!" Again, she thought it was another strange thing to comment on but decided to keep her opinion to herself.

"And then we sat down to have some tea," she continued as if the outburst hadn't happened. "And then you came. You have to have tea with us!" The dark glint left her father's eyes and he smiled fondly at her as he messed up her hair.

"Sure kid." She gave him her trademark, little smile, while Dimitri cheered loudly.

* * *

A/N: Sorry, it was a little thing, but I hoped it helped to brighten up your day, even if a little. Also sorry for it not being so super cute romantic stuff, but with everything going on I thought some child innocence was needed.

I didn't think about writing a scene where Dimitri taught Byleth to ice skate until after the his twelfth birthday and I hated for missing out on a chance to write such a cute little scene, but in the end I still got to write it.

I know times are incredibly tough and if any of you need someone to talk to you are free to PM me (Sorry, I don't have any social media). It can be about what is going on or if you guys just want to talk about the weather or anything to distract yourselves from all that is going on right now, you are welcome to contact me.

I hope you all stay safe and healthy!


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Finals are over! Time for summer break!

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Eighth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Everyone had been quiet and distant and that was okay. Byleth wasn't expecting for anyone to be in the mood for class, she knew she wasn't. Seeing Ashe's empty seat was hard, especially when she knew that he was crying all alone in his room.

Dimitri had become another point of contention for her. He was battling his own issues and it was clear to everyone. But she didn't understand why he fled from her room the other night. Everything she had done was nearly the exact same way she had been comforting him on the march back, he was having positive results then, so she was utterly clueless as to what she did wrong. Sothis told her that it might be best to leave him alone for the time being, but it was hard. Her desire to help him was so strong.

She looked at all her students. They were staring down at their work, not a spark of motivation to be found in any of their eyes; even Felix had lost his bark. It was obvious that a simple, tea party wasn't going to be enough this time and she was at a lost. Sharing stories had helped but it only had provided a temporary relief; she needed something grander, but she had no idea what to do. Her lack of sleep wasn't helping either.

She dismissed everyone and they were all slow to shuffle out, except for Dimitri, who nearly ran for the exit. She was not going to lie that had hurt her greatly. When he was angry at her, he had been cordial about his avoidance but now he was so adamant about avoiding her, it was almost as if he saw her as a plague or something. If he wasn't the Blue Lions' class leader, she was sure he would have transferred out of her class. She tried to prevent her pain from showing but her exhaustion made it difficult.

"Professor?" a soft voice called out to her. She snapped her attention to Mercedes, who was looking terrible. With a small, weary smile Byleth prompted for her student to speak. "I…ah…," Mercedes started with her gaze settling on her hands, "I was hoping you could help me develop some offensive techniques?" This was what Byleth should have wanted. It could be a sign that Mercedes was moving on and yet…Byleth really hoped that would be the case.

"Yes, I can teach you," Byleth said a bit reluctantly. Mercedes gave her a small smile, but it quickly fell. "I am free after dinner, if you are." The healer only nodded in agreement and Byleth really hoped that the quiet woman was ready.

After saying a small goodbye Mercedes had excused herself, the professor stood in the classroom for a long moment rooted in place. She stared at the door with nothing really going through her head. Only after Sothis remaindering Byleth of her duties did she finally leave the classroom and head over to Ashe's room.

Her hand hovered in front of Ashe's door. She needed to knock and yet she couldn't bring herself to do so. She glanced down at her other hand to inspect her notes as if it they were her excuse for her hesitancy. Even though it had been over a week since Lord Lonato's death, she still had no idea what to say to Ashe; or if there were even any words that should be said to him.

With how Dimitri had been avoiding her and how Dedue was so closed off, she couldn't help but wonder if it was a result from her messing up in comforting them after the tragedy. If she messed up with her two of her closest friends, how was she supposed to help Ashe? Should she help him? How was she supposed to help anyone? What good was she?

"Hey!" Sothis snapped and Byleth jumped a little. "Cease your foolish thoughts at once, do you hear me?" Byleth said nothing and she could feel Sothis' disappointing stare. "You are doing your best, and everyone can see that! Everyone just needs time, okay?" The professor nodded and Sothis gave her a small smile. "Now go on. Knock on the door already."

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, but no sound could be heard from the other side. She pressed her ear to the door and she still couldn't hear a thing. At Sothis' persistent insistence the professor opened the door and discovered that the room was empty. Upon her discovery she closed the door without uttering a sound. Not moving from her spot, she looked at the direction that the cathedral was in. She furrowed her brows as she stared at the top of the great church, the only clear part that she could see from where she was at. She didn't want to go there but she would.

Just as she suspected she found Ashe at the Cathedral, sitting in one of the pews at the front. To an uninformed person he looked like he was hunched over in prayer. She stood in the back of the pews watching him. She knew she should be happy that he was leaving his room of his own convictions, but she wished he went somewhere else. Praying to the goddess for answers, she was sure he would never receive, wasn't a problem, but she was afraid of what church officials were thinking about him and how they would react to him muttering the name of a "traitor" in a holy place. She hoped that it was just her fear of the archbishop that was clouding her opinion of the other members of the church.

Slowly she walked over to stand at the other end of the pew, he was sitting in. His head hung low as he asked the same questions, he had asked her during the night of the battle. It hurt seeing him like that and knowing that there was little that she could do. If the goddess did exist, why didn't she help the poor boy? His life had already been hard enough. Why did she also have to take his adoptative father as well?

"I…I do not like seeing him like this," a quiet voice spoke up from behind Byleth, and the professor turned to see the person who joined her. It was Marianne and she was looking at Ashe. It was the highest that Byleth had ever seen the girl rase her head. "He looks so much better smiling."

Byleth briefly looked at Ashe and nodded in agreement. While his smile did not make her feel as strange as Dimitri's did, Ashe's smile was still warm. The world was dimmer without it.

"Marianne," the professor called quietly, and the girl flinched a little. Though it was slow the girl turned to look at the older woman but kept her head down, and Byleth was a bit disappointed to see that. "Would you mind sitting with Ashe? He could really use some support right now."

"I…I do not think that I would be good at it. You should do it, Professor."

"I am trying but I think he will need more support than I can give. Please Marianne."

The quiet girl fiddled with her thumbs for a moment. Eventually, she gave a small, hesitant nod before heading over to Ashe. At first, she had kept a distance but when Ashe looked at her with such tear stained cheeks, she closed the distance and she even put a hand on his back.

Byleth watched the teens for a moment. Ashe began to cry, and Marianne comforted him. For all of her awkwardness Marianne had shown in all of her interactions with others, there was none of that to be found as she helped Ashe calm down some. The professor left with a small smile on her face, knowing that Ashe was in good hands.

* * *

Byleth ate her dinner quickly as she knew she was going to be late to meet up with Mercedes, thanks to an over long faculty meeting. She hid her hurt well when she noticed Dimitri quickly excusing himself when she walked in. Though her dinner was to be a quick one she still chatted with Raphael and Caspar, the later decided to turn Byleth's quick meal into a competition (he won but she wasn't really competing).

She raced over to the training hall before her stomach could settled. She found Mercedes standing in the back staring into nothingness. Hesitant to approach, the professor stood at the door watching her student. She was sure Mercedes wasn't ready for this, but she didn't know how to go about telling the quiet woman that.

She tore her eyes away from Mercedes to look around the training ground. It was unusually busy for that time of day and she feared that this was going to make things worse. Petra and Felix were sparing but Felix was clearly wasn't into it and would occasionally glance at Mercedes. Petra was either failing to capitalize on the boy's distractions or was being to polite to do so; Byleth suspected that it was the later.

When Felix spotted her, he stopped the match and Petra agreed. Without saying anything he walked past her to give her a pointed stare for a moment and left, with Petra not far behind him. Byleth didn't need it to be said out loud, she got the message loud and clear. She snorted because what did he think she had been trying to do since the battle ended?

"Mercedes?" Byleth called softly. The student's eyes focused when she looked at her professor. "I am sorry for being late."

Mercedes dropped her gaze and slightly shook her head. Byleth pressed her lips together. She was really getting the feeling that this was going to be a terrible idea, but she still didn't know how to tell Mercedes that. She wished Sothis would share some advice, but the mysterious girl had nothing to offer.

She really didn't want to say it, but she had nothing to stop her. "Did…Did you decide on what weapon you would like to practice with it." She was really hoping that Mercedes would say something.

Mercedes looked back up at her professor for a moment before dropping her gaze again. After a few more seconds of nothing, she finally shook her head. Before Byleth could say anything, the healer started to shuffle over to the weapons rack. Many of the people in the room, stopped what they were doing to watch Mercedes.

The student stood in front of the weapons rack for the longest time. She just stared at it, or whatever she was imagining. The eyes from the spectators turned towards Byleth for answers, none of which she knew how to give.

With a deep breath the professor walked over to the rack. She waited for Mercedes to acknowledge her but after a few seconds of nothing, she lightly placed her hand on the student's shoulder. Mercedes violently jumped back and looked at her professor with wide eyes. Byleth recognized that stare, it was the same stare Dimitri had often given her after he had awoken from a horrible nightmare. Pressing her lips together, Byleth prayed that Mercedes wouldn't suffer the same as Dimitri.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," the professor whispered, so only that the other woman could hear it.

"No!" Mercedes screamed out, and in her surprise Byleth took a step back. If everyone wasn't already watching them, they were certainly were now. Byleth barely spared them a glance before Mercedes spoke again in the soft whisper that Byleth had tried to talk in. "It's because that I didn't take your advice earlier that… that he…he had to-to…" Her voice began to trail off as sobs began to shake her body and tears spilled from her eyes.

Byleth pulled Mercedes in for a hug. In the professor's strong embrace Mercedes began to really cry. She clung to Byleth with all her strength as she really let everything out. Byleth said nothing and just petted her student's head and listened to the sounds that broke, her already fragile heart.

Mercedes clung to her professor as her body shook. Carefully, Byleth guiding them both to the ground. Mercedes continued to cry, and a few people began to leave. Eventually, it was just them in the training ground.

It took awhile but Mercedes finally stopped crying. She continued to kneel on the ground and stared at the little space between her and her professor. Once again Byleth had to struggle with what to say next.

The silence stretched on and Byleth finally sighed. She was sure her words were not going to help but she hoped that they, at least, didn't make things worse. With some reluctance she called out to her student.

Mercedes stared at Byleth with red, puffy eyes. Taking a deep breath, Byleth finally spoke, "Mercedes, you did nothing wrong." The said girl opened her mouth to say something but when no sound came out, she closed her mouth. "Battle is chaotic and cruel. And something like that was about to happen eventually. You can't blame yourself."

"But…but if I could have fought my way to him…"

"There still wouldn't have been any guarantee that you would have been able to save him." Mercedes eyes became misty and her gaze drifted downwards. "Even if you had all the power in the world, you still will not be able to save everyone. It's a horrible fact but it's a truth that we all must accept. I am sorry."

Mercedes was silent as tears fell. She didn't look at the former mercenary once. Byleth was also quiet as she waited for Mercedes to be ready to leave. Though, Byleth spoke the truth, she wondered if it that was the right thing to say.

**Tenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Byleth stood in the training ground, it was late into the evening and everyone had finished their training for the day, but her. She struck her training bow's string. The twang of the string sounded loud to her, but she didn't really know. She just focused on the vibrating string, distracting herself from actually using it.

A sigh slipped through her lips as she turned to face the targets. It was a massive target with red circles painted on it to help a newbie archer, something far below her skill level. She knew there was an open field outside of Garreg March with targets set up that would be better for her, but it was too far, and she just didn't feel like walking to it. Actually, she didn't feel like doing anything, but Sothis was nagging her to move around.

The arrow felt so heavy in her hand, but she ignored it as she brought it up to secure it on her bow's string. She focused on the target but never brought her arms up, only because she could never find the motivation to do so. At Sothis insistence she finally brought up the bow to fire it.

As she stared down the target, she remembered the last time, she practiced her archery, when it wasn't for hunting. It was when she was staying at the Fraldarious Castle. A small smile formed on her face for a moment before quickly dropping off. It was such a wonderful memory of when things were much easier, and she was simply being taught archery for the sake of it; instead of practicing it to better defend her students.

Finally, she released the arrow and it flew straight and true to the center of the target. She didn't believe she had focused enough to earn that bullseye, but she figured that she was close enough to the target to be unable to mess up. She stared at the arrow, still not finding the motivation to continue.

"You don't normally use a bow in battle, do you?" a foreign voice asked from behind Byleth, who jumped. Spinning on her heels she came face to face with a woman with short black hair and piercing purple eyes.

Byleth stared at the woman before. Sure, she wasn't at her most attentive but to still have someone sneak up on her was incredible. She pressed her lips together as she continued to watch the woman carefully.

"Not used to someone sneaking up on you?" the woman asked and Byleth remained on guard.

"No, not really," Byleth decided to answer truthfully. She didn't think the woman was with those mask assailants as the mysterious woman had just wasted her chance to kill Byleth, but the professor still wasn't about to drop her guard. "It usually takes a great amount of skills for someone to normally sneak up on me." Her grip on her training bow tightened and she wished she had been training with something else.

The woman snorted a little. "Good to know that my skills are good enough to throw off the Ashen Demon." Byleth's eyes widen. It had been a long while since someone called her that.

"Who are you?"

"Shamir." Byleth felt like she had heard that name somewhere before. "I am a Knight of Seiros."

The professor's eyes light up when she remembered where she heard the name. "You're Catherine's friend."

"I guess you could say that." Byleth cocked her head but Shamir didn't elaborate. "Anyway, about your bow skills. You've only ever hunted with a bow, huh? Never actually used one in battle, have you?" Byleth stared at Shamir for a moment before nodding. "It's pretty obvious." The younger woman arched an eyebrow. "While your stances are perfect for hunting, it will leave you open on the battlefield."

Shamir stood next to Byleth and held out her hand. It took the professor a moment to understand what was being requested of her but when she got it, she handed over her training bow and quiver. With great speed and accuracy Shamir fired off three arrows and pierced each target in the dead center.

With a bit of a smirk Shamir handed back the bow and quiver. No words were needed to be exchanged for Byleth to get the message, loud and clear. Her stance was too rigid for battle. If she had to compete against an archer like Shamir, she would have been dead twice over before she could have even let loose a single arrow.

"A bow doesn't really fit the Ashen Demon's battle style does it?" Shamir asked and Byleth looked at her. "The Ashen Demon likes to get up close and personal to her opponents so that she can see the life leave her opponent's eyes, right?"

Byleth's eyes drifted towards her training bow and she snorted. It had been a long while since anyone called her cruel and vicious, just because she fought with a blank expression. She wondered if any of the students knew of her epithet and what they must think of her.

Plucking her bow's string she looked up at the older woman. "My preferred weapon of choice is a sword. Am I not supposed to get up close to my enemies with it?"

Shamir chucked a little. "I did always think that was an over exaggerated rumor." Shamir shifted her weight to one side and sized up Byleth, not that the other woman minded. "So, why are you wasting your time with a bow?"

"Because no matter how fast I may be, I can't run across a battlefield to protect my students." It might be better for her to get a mount but if they were to fight a battle indoors than the mount would only get in the way. She was also terrible at fighting on horseback, no matter how hard her father tried to teach her.

"Never thought I would hear about the Ashen Demon becoming a protector."

Byleth scowled down at her bow. She didn't understand how she had errand such a ruthless persona rumor. Whenever the Jeralt Mercenaries had to escort or protect someone, she was always the one closest to that person. She didn't even know how many Duscurians she had saved. Why couldn't she have an accurate rumor about herself for once? With a heavy sigh, she shook her head before looking back at Shamir. She knew she couldn't change her past image and she decided to not dwell on it; she had more important things to dwell on anyway.

"If you want, I can help train you on how to better use a bow."

"You don't mind?"

"No, besides knights usually have to train the professors on subjects they are unfamiliar with." Byleth stared at the archer with wide eyes. "Did no one tell you?" The professor shook her head and Shamir sighed. "Seriously? I guess its because you are already so skilled that they didn't feel the need to share it but still." Shamir paused to shake her head. "Unless, I am busy or deployed, I am usually free around this time, so I'll train you if you want." Byleth vigorously nodded her head. She never had a proper instructor from an archer before. "Cyril will be joining us from time to time. That better not be a problem." Byleth shook her head. "Good."

**Eleventh of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Byleth stood in front of the blacksmith looking at the bows. Shamir had suggested a lighter bow as it would suit Byleth's battle style better, but since the bow was more than likely going to be a weapon used in a very specific situation she wondered if she should go with a more powerful one to be safe. She continued to stare at the bows with no idea what to buy as she never had to use a bow for battle before.

As she continued to stare at the bows, hoping one of them would stand out, the blacksmith finally walked over to her. The blacksmith patiently explained each bow to the professor, but none of the information seem to fit with Byleth's needs; though she did see several that would fit Ashe. At the thought of Ashe, she felt a pang in her chest. He still wasn't ready for class and she didn't blame him. Thinking about buying a bow for him, just made her angry at herself; a bow was the last thing he needed.

In the end she decided to not buy anything. Shamir wasn't going to train her with using a proper bow so there was no need to buy something so quickly. With a sigh she decided to leave the marketplace and struggle to figure out what to do next as Sothis wasn't going to allow her to just sit around and do nothing.

"By!" someone shouted at her and she looked up to see that it was Wil. Smiling, he rushed over to here while he continued to wave.

"Are you done for the day?" she asked as soon as he caught up to her. It had been some time since she had seen him outside of his guard uniform. His short brown hair was in the shape of a mushroom thanks to his helmet and she struggled to keep a grin off her face because of it.

"Yeah." His smile quickly dropped to a frown. "You are still having trouble sleeping?"

Saying nothing she just looked away from him. She hadn't had a decent night sleep since before the battle with Lord Lonato. Then again, she hadn't a full night sleep since before she was attacked in 1174. But she would gladly have those five hours night sleeps again than the two to three hours ones she was getting now. If only she didn't have dreams.

"That's it!" Wil's sudden, loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Before she knew what was happening, he had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began to drag her away. "We need to get your mind off of things."

"By doing what?" She pushed him off her so that they could walk next to each other comfortably.

"We are going drinking!" She stopped to give him a pointed stare. He knew exactly why she couldn't drink, especially when her father wasn't around. "Don't worry! I'll watch your back! No assassin will get to you with me around!" She continued to give him a look.

"And are you going to have a drink as well?"

"Of course, there's no fun if only one of us is drinking right?" Her look intensified and she couldn't tell if he was ignoring it or was just clueless about it. While Wil was a great guy, who she had no doubts would try and protect her, he was a light weight and would become unreliable after just one drink.

"One drink should be okay!" Sothis chimed in. "You really need a break."

Byleth was still hesitant but after a few more encouraging words from Sothis she decided to give in. While she never drank until she was inebriated, she at least knew one drink wouldn't hinder her too much. And the town at the base of Garreg Mach had been safe enough as well as close enough for knights to appear if there was a problem. She gave Wil a nod, who cheered, and they started to walk again. One drink shouldn't be a problem.

* * *

Wil had taken Byleth to the "best tavern in town" that all the Knights of Seiros visited. It was the town's only tavern, but she decided to not say anything about it. When they entered and saw several off-duty knights, she felt better about her choice to go drinking.

She took her time drinking her ale as she knew that would help her body process it better and leave her feeling less of its affects. Wil, on the other hand, downed his large drink in one go and it wasn't long after that that he became a bit inebriated. He idolized her father so much and she often caught him trying to mimic her father's actions, unfortunately for Wil, her father's drinking habits were beyond the young man's abilities.

She barely finished her first drink before Wil chugged his second one. She found it cute how he started to slur his words of declaring that he would protect her and some other nonsense she couldn't understand. He wasn't going to be much of a guard anymore but that was okay, she wasn't expecting that anyway.

He looked so happy and at peace, not a single care in the world, she wanted that, but she couldn't. She very much wanted that. To forget all her troubles. To stop having to suppress her feelings so that she could take care of others. Why did she always have to be the one to suppress her feelings? She shook her head violently to dislodge those thoughts. This wasn't the same as when she was locked up in Dimitri's room. She wasn't suppressing her feelings. Ashe's and Mercedes's were just more of a priority. They were suffering more. She just wasn't getting much sleep because of some nightmares that was nothing compared to their suffering.

Another large mug of ale was placed before her. She stared at it for a moment before looking at Wil. He was making all kinds of weird gestures that she was sure were supposed to be encouraging her to drink. Her stare settled on the mug again. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she could escape her problems with alcohol and yet she so very much wanted to do that. To be free of one night where she wasn't haunted by the images of death. Where she could just have one night where she could sleep through the entire night. She just wanted one night to be numb to everything. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

During her first drink Sothis had managed to drift of so Byleth lost her only voice of reason. When she looked back at Wil, he was so carefree. It was okay for her to have one night like that, right? She deserved one night be free of worry, right? She was working so hard to take care of everyone else, so shouldn't she deserve this?

Swallowing her guilt along with the ale she chugged in one go. The alcohol burned her throat on its way down, but it burned in a good way. Nothing like when she botched a spell or had poison coursing through her veins. She deserved this, she decided as she downed another mug; her guilt be damned. She wouldn't have to worry about feeling such things when she was drunk.

Several mugs of ale later and Byleth could feel her control slipping. She certainly had her father's tolerance. That fact made her giddy because finally she had proof that she was her father's daughter.

She wanted to keep drinking until she was like Wil, a blubbering mess, but she still had enough sense to not too. After paying, she stumbled out of the tavern with Wil draped over her shoulders. He was being overly difficult and making it even harder for her to walk in a straight line, but she didn't care as she giggled at every little thing he said.

He suddenly jerked around, and she stumbled off to the side, narrowly avoiding a blade that had been thrusted at where her head was once was. It took her too long to register what was happening before the blade slashed across her face. Pain helped to clear her mind enough to realize she was being attacked. She tried to shuffle back, only for Wil to shift around and she fell, smacking her head against the ground.

The haze she found herself in was too great that she couldn't make out, who her attacker was. She tired to get onto her feet only for a swift kick to her stomach sending her back down. One the ground, what was left of her vision began to fade. She could barely make out a voice before everything went dark.

* * *

Byleth stared up at a roof in a daze. Her head throbbed and when she finally started to dry heave she sat up. A groan escaped her when she finished, followed by a small whine. She felt absolutely terrible. A stab to the gut didn't feel anywhere near as terrible as she felt then.

When her stomach settled enough, she looked around. She wasn't in her room and she frowned, when she couldn't remember why or how she got there. Based on all the kid stuff that was lying around she was at least sure she wasn't kidnapped by her masked attackers.

When she tried to recall the night's events, she drew a blank and it just made her head hurt more. She gave up on trying to remember when she started to feel even sicker to her stomach. If this were what awaited people after a night of heavy drinking than she couldn't understand why people liked doing it so much. She did it once and she had her fill.

Her eyes finally settled on the little table, next to the bed, and there was a glass of water on it. Never had she been so grateful for water in her life. She slowly drank it so that she wouldn't give her stomach another thing to be angry about.

With the water gone there was nothing else to distract her so she got onto her feet and hated everything she felt from doing that. At the door she could smell a delicious breakfast being made and it only made her stomach churn. Reluctantly, she opened the door and the brightness, from the new room, assaulted her. Her head hurt worse than the time she had her head bashed with a heavy shield. She seriously couldn't understand why her father liked putting himself through this so often.

"Good morning!" two, very loud voices greeted her, and she groaned. Against her better judgement she opened her eyes and they instantly began to water but she could at least make out Alois sitting at the table with a little girl sitting next to him.

Once again, she tried to recall the night's events, but the throbbing prevented her from really remembering anything. The little girl loudly told Byleth that she could sit down next to her and the older woman struggled to keep herself from groaning. The little girl clearly meant well as she happily talked about everything, but her volume was torturous, but it was nothing compared to Alois' booming voice and laughter.

"Irene, not so loud," a soft-spoken woman with long blonde hair said as she appeared out of another room. The woman turned to Byleth and had on a gentle smile as she placed a bowl of porridge in front of Byleth. "Here you go dear. This should be easy on your stomach."

"Thank you," Byleth said and was surprised at how hoarse her voice was. The woman's smile grew as she promised to come back with some water.

Byleth stared down at her porridge. It was incredibly simple meal and she was sure it had no real flavor, not that she cared at the moment. She wasn't in the mood to eat but she didn't want to be rude. As soon as she started to eat, she felt a bit better.

Irene continued to happily chat, but her volume was a lot lower and was more tolerable now that Byleth had something in her stomach. She was Alois' daughter, and with her brown hair and green eyes she certainly looked like her father. The woman was named Glenda and was Alois' wife. Alois had explained to Byleth and her father that he was married and when Byleth tired to picture the woman that married the former knights' captain she certainly never expected it be such a soft-spoken woman.

Glenda served her family the breakfast that Byleth had smelled earlier and it looked to be quiet a meal, but her stomach was not pleased with the smell. The former mercenary continued to eat her porridge and focus on that instead of the smell. Despite her throbbing headache and upset stomach it had been a long while since Byleth had such a nice, homely breakfast like this.

After breakfast, Alois loudly explained what happened the night before. On his way home from after work, he stumbled on a masked man attacking her. That information made her feel even sicker; no place was safe for her. Not comfortable with leaving Byleth anywhere without her father being around, he decided to bring her and Wil to his home. Wil was still passed out in the guest room, while Byleth had taken Irene's room.

While the news about her attacker was upsetting it wasn't the news that bothered her the most, it was the fact that she allowed herself to get drunk and abandoned her duties and students. What if Dimitri had needed her comfort that night and she had betrayed his trust by being out? She left Ashe to suffer all alone. She was horrible. How could she be so selfish?

"Hey!" Sothis shouted and they both winced. The mysterious girl groaned before speaking again, "stop being hard on yourself!" Byelth said nothing and just stared at the remains of her porridge. "You are being far to hard on yourself. You need to take care of yourself as well. The others will understand. They are probably hoping you would think more of yourself."

Even if that was true. It wasn't making Byleth feel any better. "You will not be able to take care of others if you do not take care of yourself." The former mercenary pressed her lips together. "Will you please think of yourself more. It will do no one no good if you neglect yourself to the point where you start to destroy yourself."

"One night, is not going to destroy everything. I am positive the others will understand." Byleth still remained quiet. "You stubborn child." Sothis sighed and shook her head. "No one will blame you; I promise. In fact, you are probably are only worrying everyone with how you neglect yourself. Take that gatekeeper boy for example, he dragged you out to go drinking because you wouldn't take care of yourself, so he took it upon himself to help you."

Byleth continued to stare at her empty bowl. "Maybe you are right."

"Of course, I am right!" Byleth smiled a little at the expected comment. "But just for future references lets hold back on the drinking, okay? I did not even drink and yet I get to feel the horrible, throbbing headache, this is just so unfair!"

"Deal," Byleth mumbled quietly under her breath.

"Now By," Alois started, and she looked up at him. "I know you are a young woman, but you are not allowed to just go out drinking with any young man like that, especially when your father is not around!" She just stared at him, unsure of what to say to that.

"Now honey," his wife lightly criticized.

"As the older brother it is my duty to watch over her when Captain Jeralt is away." Byleth never really understood why he was her older brother, when he was nearly old enough to be her father, and she was too hung over to try and make sense of it. "Now By, you must know that all men are wolves, do you understand? They will not hesitate to eat up such a young, attractive woman like yourself." She just stared at Alois unsure of what to make of that comment. She would like to see a man try to eat her up …when she wasn't drunk. Not wanting to argue, she simple nodded along.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter it was kind of hard to work up the nerve to write this chapter with everything going on. I'm not satisfied with how the Shamir section turned out but oh well.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: I interrupt your short chapters to bring you, your normal, length schedule chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Twelfth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Even though, Byleth had almost died because she was drunk, the hangover was by far the worse thing that happened to her. The throbbing headache and the upset stomach were already unbearable but the fact that she had forgotten that she had to teach the next day made everything so much worse. She had to run to Garreg Mach in an attempt to make it on time and had nearly lost her breakfast several times along the way. She swore several times on her run that she would never drink again.

She did not make in time (she really had no hope of making it on time) and ended up being a half an hour late. She was pleasantly surprised to see all her students (except for Ashe) waiting for her but she also wished that they had just left so she could spend the day recovering. No one said anything as she walked in all disheveled and with a large bandage stuck to her cheek; she did not know if that was a good thing or not. Despite her appearance or lateness, all her students had been acting the same as they were for the past few weeks, besides Sylvain, who was clearly trying to figure out what she had done the night before.

Byleth really wanted to know how Professor Manuela could teach with a hangover because she was sure this could be classified as some kind of torture. Besides the brief hiccup in the morning and the throbbing headache throughout everything, teaching had gone as about fine as it could given her situation and she hated that. Her first day of teaching had been a chaotic day, apart from the interruption from her reunited friends, there had been several interruptions from the other students with curious questions, but none of that curiosity could be found in today with the exception of a certain ginger. They all needed help, but she was no closer to figuring out how. She didn't even know how to help herself.

When it was time for lunch everyone left quietly, well mostly everyone, Sylvain was trying to whisper something to his friends, but Felix was the only one who reacted with a snarl. She sat alone at her desk during the break staring down at her notes. She knew she should go see if Professor Manuela had any medicine but that would require Byleth getting up and she didn't want to do that, let alone be seen by anyone else in her current state. With a groan she remained rooted to her seat as she believed that this would not only be a fitting punishment for neglecting her students but as well as to drill into her to never drink again. …Or at least not drink as much as she had done.

The doors to her classroom was slammed open and she winced. Reluctantly, she glanced up expecting it to be Seteth with a lecture, but she scowled when she discovered it was Claude and Hilda and both had dumb grins on their faces. She didn't even bother saying a greeting when they arrived at her desk because their grins grew upon arrival. No one said anything as they just simply looked at each other. Never had she wanted to smack a grin off someone's face so much before. She watched as they both opened their mouths wide and took loud, deep breaths and she braced herself.

"Good afternoon By!" Claude practically shouted.

"We did not see you this morning!" Hilda did shout.

Byleth groaned as loudly as she could as she buried her face into her arms. The two continued to shout other dumb things a bit more before breaking out into equally loud laughing fits. Uncovering her face, she shot them both the fiercest glare she could muster with her pounding head.

"What is it?" Claude asked with his dumb grin, but he at least spoke in an appropriate volume.

"I'm trying to figure out how I can get away with your murders," she said in a quite mumble, and he burst out laughing in an annoyingly, loud volume.

"Good luck with that!" Hilda spoke with a still unnecessarily, loud volume. "My brother will chase you until the end of time!"

Groaning again, Byleth went back to burring her face again. "What do you want?" she mumbled into her arms.

"I just wanted to see if you really looked like the mess Sylvain described you as." Another groan but not because of the volume that time. "I cannot believe you By! What happened to our good, little professor?" Another glare was met with another dumb grin.

"So, what did you do?" Claude asked and she appreciated the normal volume level.

She sat up properly and tried to look somewhat professional but her terrible bedhead betrayed her. A blush dusted her cheeks as she realized at how embarrassing her actions were. Unable to look at them she stared at the wall, instead, and Hilda gasped loudly.

"I went out-" Byleth started to say incredibly quietly that it was lost when Hilda started to speak over her.

"By! I did not think you were like that!" Hilda proclaimed loudly and Byleth winced, but it did bring her attention back to them. Claude had a scowl on his face, and she couldn't understand why. She was a mercenary shouldn't such actions be expected of her? "But it is alright, I guess. You are an adult." Byleth stared at Hilda trying to understand why the younger woman felt the need to point that out. One didn't need to be an adult to drink in Fodlan.

"Did he hit you?" Claude asked and there was a tautness to his voice that she couldn't figure out why it existed. She just stared at him for a moment until he pointed to his cheek, reminding her of the cut that she needed healed before it could leave a very visible scar.

"No…?" she said after she thought she understood his question but was clueless as to how he came to such a conclusion. "Wil would never do such a thing."

"So, you at least know his name," Hilda randomly chimed in, "that is good at least."

"Of course, I know his name." Byleth titled her head as she stared at Hilda. Was knowing a drinking buddy's name important in the Alliance? She couldn't remember it being so, but she was less informed of the Alliance's nobilities' customs. "Wil is a good friend of mine."

"Friends with benefits?!" Byleth just stared at the pink haired girl.

She had never heard of such a phrase before and based on Hilda's reaction she wasn't sure if it was a good thing. It was clear to her that she was missing something vital, but she was too hungover to bother with trying to figure out what. Messaging her temples, she sighed, she was so ready for that day to be over with.

"So, how did you get the injury then?" Claude asked again and there was still the tightness to his voice.

She touched her cheek and it was slightly tender to her touch, so she took it as a sign that it wasn't that bad. Alois didn't really say anything about it, so she didn't think anything of it. Her nausea could easily be explained from her hangover so she highly doubted that poison was used. The cut couldn't compare to all the other injuries she had received in her life. Her attacker, more than likely, wasn't ready to kill her and was just acting upon a prime opportunity.

Her memory of last night's events was still hazy, but she tried her best to relate them. Hilda's expression morphed from a more playful shock to one of horror. Byleth had found the younger woman's expression odd at first, until she recalled that people are not normally attacked as much as she was. She, most likely, had more assassination attempts on her life than any of the high nobility in all of Fodlan, but it wasn't a fact that she was proud of.

Claude slammed his hands on her desk, and she winched as well as jumped at the same time. Both Hilda and Byleth stared at Claude as his scowl intensified. She was left speechless, she had never seen him so worked up before.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he yelled. While the volume bothered her, she was too stunned to really notice. "You have people attacking you, you know that!" Her shock gave away to a scowl of her own. "How could you be so stupid to let yourself be vulnerable like that?! You should know better than this!"

It was her turn to slam her hands down. Her chair fell as she rose to her feet. She matched Claude's intensive glare with one of her own.

"I just wanted a moment of reprieve!" she shouted back and ignored the pounding of her head. "To have one night free of nightmares!" Claude dropped his glare. "I wanted just one night of peace!" He started to back down.

"I know how incredibly selfish that was! But I just wanted…one night…" Her voice began to trail off as she started to shake. She dropped her gaze to her desk and balled up her fists. "I'm horrible but…but…"

She couldn't finish that thought but she didn't have too as Hilda had wrapped her arms around the older woman. With wide eyes Byleth looked at Hilda, who had her eyes closed with tears at the corner of them. Before she could react to Hilda, she had felt another pair of arms wrap around her and discovered that Claude was hugging her as well and was looking right at her. She found herself lost in his green eyes, she was about to reach out to him, when she felt Hilda place her head on the professor's shoulder.

"Oh By," it is perfectly okay to want that," Hilda said so quietly but it resonated strongly within Byleth. The older woman felt a lump form in the back of her throat.

"By, you can lean on us," Claude said, and she blinked a few times as her eyes welled up with tears that would never fall. "We will help you no matter what. We are your friends, right?"

She had nothing to say, not that she would have been able to say anything. All she could do was nod and squeezed them. All the guilt she had been suffering from, finally gave away to the relief that she had been so desperately seeking. The friends stayed like that for a few more minutes, until they could hear the other students returning from their break.

* * *

After finally voicing her desires to someone, other than Sothis, and having them agree that it was okay, was exactly what Byleth needed. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she could finally step forward. Despite still being hungover, she felt great and the headache was nothing more than a little bother that her good mood could ignore.

Teaching for the rest of the day had become a lot easier. She didn't know if it was just her or what, but it seemed like her students were more relaxed, well at least three of them: Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid. Though Sylvain was still clearly trying to figure out his professor's mess.

It was during the last period of the day that Sylvain finally snapped. He slammed his hands against his table as he grabbed everyone's attention. He stared long and hard at Byleth for a moment.

"I need to know!" he nearly shouted and unsure of what to do she simply gestured for him to speak. "Did you have a one-night stand?"

"Sylvain!" Ingrid shouted as she smacked him.

"What?! We all are wondering the same thing!"

That was another expression she didn't recognize for that day and she frowned at that. She glanced at the rest of her students, seeking answers but none gave her any. Both Annette and Mercedes were blushing and looking away, Felix just put his face in his hands and shook his head slightly, Ingrid was still smacking Sylvain, who was trying to defend himself, Dedue was Dedue, and Dimitri had a much more intense reaction.

He sat stiff as a board, jaw clenched, and his fists were just as clenched with the remains of a broke quill lost in one of them. He glared at his table as if it had greatly offended him. She walked over to him and lightly rested the tips of her fingers on the table and his reaction was strange. He curled away from her as if he were a puppy she had just kicked. For his sake she walked away from him to stand next to Sylvain, but he seemed to still have that reaction since she didn't walk very far from him.

She desperately tried to put Dimitri's strange reaction out of her mind by focusing on Sylvain, instead. "What's a one-night stand?" she asked, and Sylvain's jaw dropped. After saying it out loud she felt like she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where and Sothis didn't seem to be familiar with the term either.

"How do you not know what that is?!" Sylvain yelled and ignored Ingrid's beatings. "Knocking boots? Pants-off dance-off? Attacking the pink fortress? Thumping thighs?" Every time he said one of those lines Ingrid would get redder and would hit him, but he didn't stop. None of those sounded familiar at all but given Ingrid's reaction, Byleth got the feeling that she should be offended and so she gave him a small glare.

"How can you not know any of these?" Sylvain was now wailing. "What did Jeralt teach you?!"

"Practical stuff!" Ingrid shouted as she now resorted to using her books as added support for her attacks.

Byleth watched as Sylvain failed to defend himself from Ingrid's assault. Suddenly, everything clicked, and she was beat red. Stumbling back, her eyes went wide when she realized that must have been what Claude and Hilda were implying earlier.

"I didn't have sex!" she nearly shrieked and only became redder because of her volume. She prayed that the other classes didn't hear her. "I just went drinking that is all!" Sylvain gave her a look that told her he didn't believe her, and she was tempted to smack him.

"See!" Ingrid yelled. "She has a cut on her check, how could you reach such a conclusion!?"

"We do not know what By likes! For all we know she can like it rough!" Which cheeks ablaze Byleth finally smacked Sylvain and he yelped. She tried to glare at him, but she was sure it had no ferocity to it.

"I just went out dirking with a friend and on our way back to Garreg Mach I was attacked and-"

"You were attacked!?" Dimitri shouted as he got onto his feet. The mood quickly soured.

"Yes," she was able to say calmly, thanks to the heavy mood helping to calm her down. "Everything is okay. Alois helped me, which is one of the reasons why I was late today." She gave Sylvain a sideways glance, but he didn't acknowledge the look.

Her explanation didn't help the atmosphere and she wished to go back to the embarrassing mood of just a few minutes ago. With a sigh, she placed a hand on Dimitri's shoulder, and she was grateful that he didn't try to break away from her touch. She gave him a smile, but it didn't help, so she sighed again.

"I am fine. The attacks are nothing new." He scowled so she gave his shoulder a squeeze. It was clear that that was not going to be enough for him, but she didn't know how else to comfort him in a room full of people, so she decided to leave it for now.

She turned to Sylvain because if anyone were going to help salvage the mood it would be him; and she had a bone to pick with him as well. "Sylvain," she said slowly and with an eerie, little smile. He flinched but gave her a shaky smile in return. "Did you start another rumor about me that might possibly damage my reputation?" He flinched before begging for forgiveness. With a bit of help from Ingrid punishing Sylvain the mood began to return to a lighter one and that seemed to help Dimitri calm down, especially when she gave him another smile and he looked away.

**Thirteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

That day had been going well. Her students were more alive, well mainly Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid. But Annette had been doing better and Byleth believed that would have a positive impact on Mercedes. For the first time in weeks she felt like they were on the right track. She wished Ashe were there as well, but she understood that the boy was going to need more time.

The morning before class Claude had requested that she free up her last period, which was no problem as it was always free, as well as moving training to the second to the last period so that her classroom would be empty before the final period. He was clearly up to something, but he had her complete trust, so she didn't really think too much about it. Of course, she had wished he had told her the day before, so she didn't have to spend the last few minutes before class trying to rearrange her entire schedule for that day.

It was a struggle, but she managed to pull it off without a hitch. Her students that were born in the frigid north, will possibly object to having any more of their future physical activities during the blazing afternoon in summer and she would try to accommodate them. Lucky for her only Sylvain voiced his complaints; unlucky for her Sylvain didn't stop complaining even after Annette cooled the training ground with her magic but Byleth couldn't blame him when he had to practice with flame magic.

Byleth stood in front of her classroom with all her students behind her, waiting for her to open the doors. She had no idea if Claude was done with whatever he needed to do. A small frown formed on her lips as she didn't know if she should knock or not.

An impatient Felix loudly proclaimed his annoyance at her hesitancy. He was about to open the doors for her when the doors opened with both Raphael and Ignatz each holding their own respective door and gesturing for everyone to come in. The entire Blue Lions class just stood there in stunned silence.

"Why are you all standing there? Come on in!" Claude shouted from the back of the classroom and that broke the lions out their shock.

Slowly the Blue Lions walked into their classroom. It was decorated with little party decorations, with streamers dangling from the roof and other little arts and crafts decorated the walls and tables. Near the head of the classroom was the rest of the Golden Deer surrounding the two front tables, that were pushed together and were equally decorated. A wide variety of snacks and drinks were spread out over the table. The Blue Lions came to a stop right in front of the tables.

Smiling widely Claude jerked his head towards the right and Leonie stepped aside to reveal Ashe. He stayed close to Marianne, but he was looking a bit better as his bags didn't look so deep. Gasps ran out among the lions and Annette and Mercedes ran over to him and he gave them a small smile. It was far from his true smile, but it wasn't a forced one at least.

Byleth looked at everything again before her gaze settled on Claude and Hilda, who gave her wide smiles and knowing looks. A large smile grew on the professor's face as she rushed over to them and threw her arms around them. She gave them a strong squeeze and they returned the hug.

"It was not just us," Claude said as he broke away from her hug to gesture towards the rest of the Golden Deer. "They all helped."

"Thank you!" Byleth rushed over to Lorenz, the next closest deer.

He held up a hand to stop her. "A hug is not necessary," he said. She glanced at the to her students, who gave her a shake of their heads as well. Her smile slowly dropped to her more neutral expression.

"Well shucks," Raphael said as he made his way over to the front. "If no one will hug the Professor, then I'll do it!"

Before Byleth could register what he said, she was lifted off of her feet in a massive hug. She felt so tiny in his arms that she started to laugh. In return he laughed, and it was a strong, reverberating laugh that traveled through him and into her and caused her to laugh some more and returned the hug.

"I am sorry for the interruption," Dimitri said as she stepped forward, "but may I inquire as to what this is all about?"

"The Golden Deer have seen the Blue Lions struggling and wanted to do something to help," Claude explained. "We are all in this together."

The Blue Lions stared at Claude for a moment. Dimitri was the first to come back to his sense and gave the Golden Deer a grand bow. Chuckling softly, the Alliance heir walked over to the prince and smacked him across the back with an enough force to cause Dimitri to stumble forward a little and Claude had to rub his hand a little from it. With that the tension left the Blue Lions and they started to mingle with the other students.

Sylvain and Lorenz instantly fell into a flirting competition that both Leonie and Lysithea were getting fed up with. Sylvain never flirted with Marianne but that was most likely because she was taking care of Ashe. Ingrid and Raphael were having an interesting discussion about meat, while Felix looked both lost as well as not surprised about the topic. Dedue and Ignatz were having a conversation, well it was mostly Ignatz, as he discussed the next possible subject of his painting and Dedue had mentioned some flowers that might help. Lysithea eventually broke away from Sylvain and Lorenz to go and talk with Annette and Mercedes, at first, they were talking about magic, but the conversation quickly shifted over to sweets. Claude and Dimitri were discussing something that didn't stop even when Hilda came up and wrapped an arm around one of Claude's arms.

Byleth watched all the students interact with a smile on her face. On her own she wasn't able to help her students, but she was sure that this would help them. She wished she had sought out Claude's help sooner. She realized it was silly how she was trying to help her friends and yet failed to seek out the same support that she needed as well. She knew that Claude and Sothis were not going to allow her to forget that fact any time soon.

"Professor?" Marianne called out to her. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

With a nod, she led Marianne to a quieter part of the classroom. The girl was clearly grateful for that but was still hesitant to start the conversation. Byleth decided to patiently wait for Marianne to work up the courage to speak.

"Professor?" Marianne called again and the other woman gave her a nod to continue. "It is about Ashe. He is really worried about his younger siblings."

Byleth pressed her lips together. She knew that had been a big issue for Ashe, but she had been so lost in all the problems that had been surrounding her that she didn't really spend much time focusing on it. That was unfair to Ashe and with a clear head she knew that solving that problem would greatly help the boy.

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

Byleth gave Marianne a small smile. "I will speak to Seteth," she said. She was going to solve the sibling problem one way or another; the church wouldn't be able to hold her back on this. "I will find someway for Ashe to check on his siblings." Marianne gave Byleth a small smile and for a moment the professor was speechless. She had asked Marianne to comfort Ashe, in hopes of helping the boy but she never imagined that it would have a positive impact on Marianne as well. She gave Marianne a large, warm smile.

* * *

The little party was slowly coming to an end and everyone began to separate. It was a good time for Byleth to leave and go talk with Seteth but before that she wanted more information. She watched as everyone slowly left. It was a surprise that Dimitri was one of the last to leave but that was probably because the conversation he was having with Claude was too distracting for him to notice.

"Aster," she called out as he and Claude neared the exit. "I need to speak with you." He flinched and turned slightly away from her. Claude's eyes darted between the two. She said the prince's name more sternly and he turned back towards her. Claude gave an awkward goodbye and then it was just those two.

Dimitri did not walk over to her; he didn't even look at her and instead choose to stare at the floor. She bit her bottom lip as she watched him. Her fingers dug into her arms for a moment before she dropped them to her sides. With a heavy sigh, she closed the distance that the prince refused to cross.

"Relax, I only need a moment of your time," she said once she stood before him, but he continued to look away. "I'll let you go back to avoiding me soon enough."

"I am not av-" he started to say and even looked at her while doing so but she silenced him by raising a hand.

Even if she had been in a much better state of mind, she didn't want to hear his lies or excuses. His eyes glossed over, and he hung his head. She balled her fists as she looked at him. How could he act like that? All hurt and stuff when he was the one clearly avoiding her? As far as she knew she didn't do anything to deserve such treatment. She clenched her jaw for a moment as she let the silence linger between them.

"Are you kept up to date with what is happening in the Kingdom right now?"

He raised his head so that he could stare at her. He said nothing for a moment and just stared at her. It wasn't until she started to tap her foot that he broke out of his daze.

"I am not up to date on everything, but I have a general idea of what is going on."

She gave him a firm nod. "Then by chance do you know what is currently going on with Gaspard territory?" He pressed his lips together.

"I will be honest; I know very little of what is currently happening as the negotiations for that territory are still being discussed." She nodded as she had been expecting as much. "From what I know the church is currently handling Gaspard's lands, while they conduct an investigation and many of the Kingdom's nobles have expressed their grievance to this to both the church and my uncle."

"From what I have been told the church has promised to hand over Gaspard territory to Count Rowe after the Goddess' Rite of Rebirth. From there Count Row will govern it, until Ashe is ready to take over." Byleth gaze slowly drifted away, as she folded one arm across her chest and rested the other on it so that she may rest her head on her hand. She had remembered hearing about House Rowe, when she had attended studies with Dimitri, but she never met the lord and can only recall very little of what she had heard about him.

"Is Count Rowe a good man?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes…?" He tilted his head to the side a little as he watched her. "I am not too familiar with him. He much prefers to stay in his lands, so I have only met him a few times, but he did seem like a good man, if not a bit stubborn."

"Do you believe it would be wise to leave Gaspard in the Count's hands?" She was not sure why she asked that. No matter his answer there was nothing she could do about it, and it would most likely become too much of a hassle for Dimitri to change when he would become king.

He furrowed his brows as he stared at her. "Yes, compared to the other domains in the region, House Rowe is the best at governing theirs. Gaspard territory is too far from House Blaiddyd for the capital to properly govern while handling all other Kingdom's affairs, especially with Faerghus' current state." He briefly looked away and balled his fists tightly. After taking a deep breath, he looked back at her. "From what I heard Count Rowe was good friends with Lord Lonato so I believe he will be the best at taking care of Gaspard territory."

She nodded. Despite having little control over the whole situation, it was nice to hear that Ashe's home would be taken care of. Since Lord Lonato was good friends with the Count she hoped that would give some comfort to Ashe.

"Thank you. You are free to go." She turned her back to him so that she could walk towards her desk.

"Wait!" Dimitri shouted. He reached out to grab her but stopped himself. His hand hung awkwardly in the air, almost as if it were frozen in place. She glanced at him and discovered that he was staring intently at his hand.

She looked at his hand for a few seconds before slipping one of hers into his outstretched hand. His eyes widen at first before settling into a soft smile. He held her hand so delicately as if he were afraid that he would break it. His eyes never left their hands as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. She almost fell under the same enchantment as him because she didn't realize how much she just missed him holding her hand.

Right when a smile formed on her face a dark shadow overcame his and he dropped her hand. Without saying anything he gave her a grand bow and left the classroom. Unable to move she just continued to stand there staring at the door. Her hand felt so incredibly cold and her heart felt empty.

* * *

Shoving all the emotions that Dimitri had brought up deep within her, Byleth walked towards Seteth's office with a strong determination. She decided to focus on helping Ashe, then allowing herself to wallow in her own self-pity. She had done enough of that already. She had been trying to be strong but Sothis had nearly destroyed her by telling her that it was alright for her to be hurt and focus on that for a while.

Desperate to run away from Sothis' advice, Byleth knocked on Seteth's office door. She had just gotten over her sorrow, she didn't want to fall into another one. Or at least she didn't want to acknowledge the problems she was running away from.

When she heard the go ahead from Seteth she entered the office and froze when she laid eyes upon him. She stood in the doorway staring at him until he gestured for her to have a seat. She realized that this would be the first time in weeks that she spoke to him of her own accord, and not being forced to, like in faculty meetings. Now that she realized her actions, it felt like she had been cruel to him, when he had been so kind to her before but at the same time she didn't know if she could trust him.

He gestured to a tea set on the edge of his desk, but she declined. He stopped working to sit up properly and folded his hands over his desk as he looked at her. There was a new look to his eyes, like he was assessing her in a different light than what he normally did; it was almost like the way the archbishop looked at her. She just hoped that it was her poor impression of the archbishop that was clouding her judgement as she didn't want to deal with another church official having unknown expectations of her.

"What can I do for you Miss Eisner?" Seteth asked and she jumped slightly in her seat.

"As I'm sure you are well aware that Ashe hasn't been doing so well since the Blue Lions' last mission," she said. _You better be!_ Her thoughts rang out because she couldn't. Speaking of Ashe in front of Seteth only reignited her anger and it was at Sothis' reminders that kept the younger woman from glaring at him.

"I am."

"To help him recover during this difficult time" _The time you put him through! _"I would like to take him to Castle Gaspard so that he may see his siblings."

"No."

He clearly had more to say but she wasn't going to allow it. She slammed her hands down on his desk and her chair screeched loudly as it was forced back so that she could get onto her feet. His expression didn't change, despite her glaring down at him. Sothis tried to calm her down but she wasn't having any of it.

"Are you telling me that the church suspects a ten-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl as suspects in the rebellion?!" She glared long and hard at him but when he had no reaction, she felt her fire starting to go out. Slowly and silently, she sat back down. She couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Are you done?" She didn't say anything, but she did give him a nod. "The reason why I objected was Castle Gaspard is off limits to all but a select few." She gripped her legs. "At the request of Count Rowe, we did send over Ashe's siblings to live with him." Her head shot up to look at him. "If you can get either Professor Manuel or Professor Hanneman to take over your duties I can assign you a brief leave of absence so that you can take Ashe to visit them."

"Really?" She jumped out of her seat. "Thank you so much!" He gave her a firm nod. She sat back down smiling widely, until she remembered her outburst. A light blush colored her cheeks and she wasn't able to look at him anymore. "I apologize for my outburst."

"It is quite alright." She looked at back at him, trying to figure out how he could work for the archbishop, when he was so calm at such an action. "I understand that this must be a very difficult time for you."

She wanted to bite back with asking "whose fault that was" but when its not towards the archbishop she didn't have much motivation to do so. Or maybe it was just because it was Seteth and no one else. He was so calm and understanding that it was refreshing. Though he might belong to the church she wasn't sure if she could ever truly hate him.

"Still I apologize for my outburst. I shouldn't have taken my out my frustrations on you."

"Apology accepted."

He looked down at the work on his desk that was now slightly a mess thanks to her, while she looked off to the side. With the issue of Ashe taken care of she had nothing else to speak with Seteth about and yet she didn't' think it was okay to leave after that outburst. She fidgeted in her seat for a bit before he glanced at her.

"Was there something else you needed from me?" She started to fidget some more, while she explained that she didn't have anything else. "I do beg your pardon, but I am busy." With that que, she got up to leave. "Have a nice day Miss Eisner." She mumbled out her own farewell as she left.

Once the door to his office shut behind her, she released a large sigh. That had gone better than she was suspecting but she still wasn't sure how to feel about the advisor. It would be so much easier if Seteth just gave her one reason to feel over the other. It was just another annoying issue from having emotions.

"That man," Sothis said. "He is certainly a calm, collected man, but he has always been like that…" Sothis stopped speaking and Byleth could feel the girl's long stare into nothing.

"Curious," the mysterious girl said after a moment, "why do I feel that way? We barely know that man…right?" Byleth could feel Sothis frown as she drifted to the back of Byleth's mind.

She was about to leave when she heard someone call out to her and she turned around to discover Professor Hanneman. As she walked over to him, she remembered that she needed his help, in order to leave with Ashe. Since it was such a perfect timing a smile danced on her lips.

"I hope my students were of some help today," he said standing outside of his office.

"They were a great help. Thank you so much for allowing them to take time off to do that."

"It was my pleasure. I am sorry, I did not help earlier. I was unsure of how to help, even though you were struggling."

She shook her head. "It is alright. It was a difficult situation, so I understand."

He gave her a little nod. "I am sorry to have disturbed you if you were busy." She shook her head. "Then may I have a moment of your time? There is something I wish to discuss with you."

With a nod from her, he began to lead her inside. It wasn't the first time she was in his office; but it was still quite impressive. Books lined the walls, and the one section that wasn't covered in books had all kinds of interesting tools for his experiments. On the floor in the center of the room was a strange device that could blow up the image of a person's crest and project it in the air. The first time she had entered she had been weary of the device but now she felt differently about it.

He offered her the seat, right in front of his desk, which she happily took given his propensity to get lost in certain topics. He did not sit and choose to stand, while shuffling around a little. At a few different points he stopped to clean his monocle, and after the fourth time a sigh escaped him. This was so unlike Professor Hanneman that she silently watched him with a great curiosity.

With another sigh, he dropped his hands to his side and very obviously forced himself to stand still. "I am just going to come right out and ask this, if you do not mind?" With a slight tilt of her head she gestured for him to speak. "You have a crest, do you not?" Pressing her lips together she looked at the wall behind him. "Am I right to presume that you have had a terrible experience with it?" She stiffened but after a moment she nodded. "I am sorry for asking."

There was a silence between them for a moment. He walked over to his experiment tools and absently looked at them, while she just continued to sit. The silence was suffocating.

The silence was broken with a sigh from her. He glanced at her from over his shoulder, while she stared at him. Her crest was supposed to be a secret, a terribly kept one, but a secret, nonetheless. But now that the archbishop knew, what was the point of keeping it a secret anymore? She wanted answers. She needed to know more about the thing that had plagued her for so many years.

"I-I don't know what kind of crest I possess." He turned to face her, and she could see the question in his eyes without ever asking it. "It is not the Crest of Seiros, like my father's." He arched an eyebrow. "Not even the lead mage in the Kingdom knows what my crest is." His eyes sparked with an intense curiosity, but he was still clearly holding himself back. "My crest has two different abilities." With that he was now in front of her, holding a glass beaker that she was sure was going to break under his strong grip.

She looked into his eyes. Thanks to the archbishop, Byleth had grown to hate having looks of expectancy directed at her but she didn't hate the way Professor Hanneman was looking at her. Was it because his look was directed more for her crest or was simply because he wasn't the archbishop? She decided it didn't really matter.

"I hate my crest." He flinched slightly and she felt a bit bad for ruining his excitement. "But I want to know what it is. I'm tried of being in the dark about it."

He gave her a firm nod before grabbing a chair so that he may sit in front of her. He also pulled out some parchment and ink. Once he was ready, he looked at her and now she was unnerved by the look in his eyes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them again the look was gone, or at least subdued greatly.

"Before we begin, I wish for it to be known that I did not bring you here because I wished to learn about your crest." She tilted her head a little as he looked out his window. "I had a sister, who suffered greatly because of crest and I feared that you might have suffered the same way as she did." He balled his fists tightly and continued to stare out the window.

She gave him a few seconds of silence before speaking. "Thank you for your concern. My crest has given me a wide variety of problems…" She let the thought die as she was unsure of how to finish it. He turned his gaze back onto her and the two stared at each other for a moment before sharing a nod.

"I will do all that I can to uncover the secrets of your crest!" All at once his excitement returned and she chuckled a little. Thanks to her own experiences and Sylvain's, she had grown to loath crests, but she couldn't bring herself to hate Professor's Hanneman's excitement over them.

He was practically giddy by the way he just couldn't sit still. She would have found it cute if she wasn't the center of his attention. "Now tell me all about your crest!"

Even though, she was the one, who piqued his interest and yet she found herself unwilling to share. She had tried so hard to keep it a secret for so long that it didn't feel right about talking about it. When she looked at him, she couldn't help but remember the noble that tried to goad her into marring him so she could bare him children with crest. She knew Professor Hanneman was different, he had his own crest, so he didn't need her to bare him children with one to regain some prestige, but it still felt uncomfortable.

"Are you afraid of having answers?" Sothis asked. "With answers you will finally know why you are so special and why you are targeted." Byleth pressed her lips together. "You will not be able to remain ignorant but is that truly so terrible? If I were you, I would want answers. I would want to know why."

Byleth's fingers dug into her knees as she stared at the window for a long moment. She was sure those masked people were attacking her because of her crest, and she was so close to finally knowing why and yet… Would the answers really change anything? Or would it just bring more questions and expectations? Was it so wrong to remain ignorant? But then again, she was still going to be attacked even if she knew anything or not. It would be best to at least know, right?

Her eyes snapped forward to look at Professor Hanneman, who was giving her a small smile. Taking a deep breathe she finally spoke, "my crest is massive. Far bigger than even a major crest." His eyes widen. "It is also bright red." He vigorously wrote everything down. "It has two different abilities." His head shot up at that and he gave her his full attention. "The first ability it awoke with was the ability to momentarily halt an opponent's movements like the Crest of Cichol. The second ability only activated recently during my dual with Catherine. On top of the first ability my crest is also able to power up my blows like the Crest of Seiros."

"Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating!" he mumbled as he furiously scribbled down in his notes. She might have been hesitant to share but seeing him so excited had her glad that she did.

All of a sudden, his head snapped up and he stared at her with such an intensity. "I must see your crest!" She was taken a back by his forwardness. Slowly he realized his overexcitement and coughed into his hands. "I do apologize for my excitement. May I please see your crest."

She gave him a small smile and nodded. Without saying anything she began to unbutton the top two buttons to her blouse. She was glad to be wearing the white top to the summer uniform instead of her normal mercenary outfit as that would have been a hassle to undress in.

"What are you doing?!" Professor Hanneman yelled and she stopped.

"I am going to show you my crest."

"Yes, but why are you undressing?!" His face was now bright red.

"To show you my crest," she said more slowly. He looked at her for a moment before his blush deepened. "You need to see it, right?" She let her annoyance slip into her voice.

He turned away from her, mumbling an apology of some sorts. A frown was now planted on her face as she unbuttoned the next few buttons. With no need to unbutton everything she only opened her blouse enough to show off the crest as well as give a nice view of her cleavage, that she didn't notice.

With a loud clearing of her throat, she managed to get him to turn around and look at her. At the sight of her crest, all his embarrassment and uncomfortableness left him as he threw his entire focus onto her crest. She felt uncomfortable to be stared at so intensely, but she figured that he had all but forgotten that she was there by the way he stared at her crest. She remained quiet so that he could hurry up and get this over with.

There was a knock on Professor's Hanneman's door but he didn't notice. Another knock and her eyes flew to the door, but he still didn't notice, and he was too busy muttering things. After the third knock she wondered if she should alert him to it and turned to look at him, but the door opened before she could speak.

"What in the goddess name is going on here?!" roared a powerful voice and both Professor Hanneman and Byleth jumped. The person at the door was her father and he looked about ready to kill.

"Dad!" She shouted as she ran over to hug him. He grabbed one of her outstretched arms and yanked her behind him. She tried to break free of his grip, but it was too strong.

"Sir Jeralt, it-it is not what you think!" Professor Hanneman said as he dashed behind his desk. "I-I was just examining Professor Byleth's crest. That is all, nothing else!"

The grip on her arm tighten and her father growled out. She pulled at his arm until he looked at her, but she didn't want to be on the receiving end of such a glare. She instantly understood why Professor Hanneman was so afraid.

"I have a lot to update you on," she said, and his scowl deepened.

With one final glare to the scholar, Jeralt dragged her out of the room and into his office. He slammed the door to his office so hard that the wall shook, and several books fell off the bookshelf in the room. Without sparing her the slightest glance he walked over to his desk and leaned over it, while keeping his back to her. Not daring to move, she stayed close to the door. Her hand struggled with buttoning up her blouse. A heavy, suffocating silence descended upon them.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go kill Hanneman right now," her father spoke calmly but it did nothing to break the tension, it only enhanced it. He continued to keep his back to her.

"Because he's a good person…?" she tried to say that strongly, but her voice nearly gave out by the end of it.

"Byleth!" he yelled as he slammed his hands on his desk and a stack of papers fell off. Claude had told her the best way to ease tension was by telling a joke and she wished she hadn't listening to him.

She watched as he took a deep breath and even that little action was frightening to watch. She always had an inkling that her father was intimidating but this was the first time she was the one to experience it. "Why was he examining your crest?" again he said it so calmly that it was greatly unnerving.

"It activated a few weeks ago in front of everyone." She pressed her lips together. It had only been a few weeks since that dual and yet it felt like nearly a lifetime ago, and despite that, that wasn't the most upsetting thing about those facts. She had realized that it had been so long since she had seen her father; in fact, she had hardly seen him since they came to Garreg Mach.

"Everyone?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Yes," she answered in a near whisper.

He swore loudly before turning to address her. "How could you let this happen?!"

Her throat burned at his accusatory question. She balled her fists tightly and matched his glare. "It's not like I wanted the damn thing to activate!" she barked back. "But now that it's out in the open I want answers!"

"It's not safe!"

"What's the point? Everyone knows! I'm never going to be safe at this point!"

He greatly recoiled and she cursed herself. She wanted to turn back time but Sothis wouldn't have it. "It was a conversation" they need to have or so the mysterious girl claimed. Byleth had agreed she need to have that talk with her father but she would have liked for it to been under better circumstances, but she knew that there would more than likely never be better circumstance, especially with how little they have seen each other as of late.

With a sigh, she walked over to her father, who looked away. "As hard as we try, I am always attacked." He glared at the wall, but the glare was quickly dropped. "I just want to know why. Why me? And what is this stupid crest is. I'm sorry for doing this behind your back."

A silence settled over them again, but it wasn't so suffocating that time. Her father looked at the wall, while she stared at the part of the desk, he wasn't blocking. Neither of them dared to move for the longest time.

He was the first to break the stillness with a sigh and he ran his hand through his hair. No words were still said but they were at least looking at each other. With a huff he collapsed against his desk, and it slide back a little from his weight.

Again, he was able to break through the silence with another sigh. Momentarily his gaze dropped but returned after another sigh. He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. Byleth just silent watched him work through his thoughts, wishing to know what he was thinking.

"Did…did the archbishop say anything about your crest?" he asked after a few more seconds of working through his thoughts.

"Not really." Her gaze drifted away. "She was just curious as to why I kept it a secret, so I just explained that I was attacked because of it."

He gave her a brief nod and slumped more against his desk. There was so much more she needed to discuss with him about the archbishop, but she didn't even know where to start. At Sothis' suggestion she decided to not say anything at that moment. It was best to not have that conversation there, across the hall from the advisor's office, especially when their yelling surely drew everyone's attention.

There was a lot of things she wanted to talk about with her father, but she decided to save them for another time, and instead, just focused on insuring, her father that she was okay. She gave him a hug and she felt the tension leave his body as he returned it. He gave her a quiet apology for his anger, and she dismissed it with a little shake of her head. Despite their horrible reunion, she was grateful to have her father back and she prayed that the archbishop wouldn't send him away on another mission so soon.

* * *

A/N: For the first part of the chapter I looked up euphemisms for sex and there are so many dumb ones. So, I present you my favorite one, "Bringing an al dente noodle to the spaghetti house".

There are so many things I need to talk about in the Blue Sea Moon that I'm wondering if I'll have enough days to discuss them. I guess we will just have to wait and see if I can.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: My favorite pencil died to give you this chapter.

Sorry for the delay. I had a Yurileth oneshot that wouldn't leave me until I wrote it and I have been kind of numb to everything lately, so that might affect my next chapter as well.

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Fourteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

After ensuring Professor Hanneman that her father would not kill him, he had agreed to look over Byleth's class for the next few days. With that hurdled taken care of Byleth had told Ashe, and for the first time in weeks he had truly smiled. Her heart soared at seeing his excitement again.

When she had shared the news with her students, most of them had been excited for it. Dimitri had seemed to be a mixed bag, but she had come to not expect anything from the boy as of late. With her students blessing, she couldn't wait to leave the next day.

Once school was done for the day, she went on the search for Marianne. Marianne had become a far greater support than Byleth could have ever imagined, and the professor knew that she had to tell Marianne that she would be stealing Ashe away for the next few days. It was also to show to the quiet woman that she had kept her promise and did it so quickly too. When Ashe would start feeling better, she hoped that would cheer up Marianne as well.

Byleth didn't like going to the cathedral. It was already hard enough going into after years of the "church is bad" being drilled into her but after the interaction with the archbishop, after her return from the last mission, she felt even more uncomfortable. Thanks to the archbishop hinting that the former mercenary might be the second coming of Saint Seiros, Byleth couldn't help but feel like all the priests had been looking at her differently. She had no idea how to show everyone that they were wrong, that she was nothing more than a simple warrior.

If there was anything that Byleth learned in her short life it was that she so rarely got what she wanted. She had to enter the cathedral for Marianne but that was okay after seeing a rare smile from the girl. What was not okay was running into the archbishop on her way out.

"How good it is to see you, my sweet child," the archbishop said in an overly sweet voice.

"Remember keep the glare off your face," Sothis chimed in, and Byleth struggled to keep her face impassive.

"I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to see you in the cathedral." Byleth remained impassive as ever and that didn't seem to bother the archbishop at all. "Since you are leaving does that mean that you are free?"

The former mercenary remained silent as she stared at the holy woman. Besides packing, she was free, but she didn't want the archbishop to know that. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't think up a good excuse, so at Sothis' insistence she nodded yes. "She had to maintain a positive relationship with the archbishop' or so Sothis claimed, but Byleth couldn't help but feel that maybe there was some bias to the statement, even if it was a sound one.

The archbishop flashed her a brilliant smile and Byleth felt weird at seeing it. There was her usual apprehension, but she also felt a small amount of joy, and she was sure that it wasn't her that was feeling that way, but Sothis never made a comment about it. Thanks to the perplexing emotions swelling within, Byleth found her distrust for the holy woman weak that day.

The complexity of her emotions had caused Byleth to be unable to turn down the archbishop's offer to have tea and eat dinner with her, which only pleased her more. Byleth always had tea out in the gardens and though she did not really want to spend her time with the archbishop, at least there they would never be truly alone. Unfortunately for the professor she wasn't so lucky to have tea in her place of choice or to eat dinner in the dinning hall.

While Byleth would have wanted tea in the gardens, she wasn't above having it in other places, but to have it and dinner in the archbishop's personal chambers was the one place she was against but she didn't really have much choice in that manner. She had no argument to the match the archbishop's explanation for why her room would be the only place they wouldn't be disturbed. Reluctantly, she followed the archbishop but made sure to keep her displeasure off of her face.

Silently, the former mercenary stared at Cyril, begging him to stay but after the tea was set, he left at the archbishop's request. She had to swallow her sigh when she heard the door shut behind her. The air felt heavy in that room, but she knew that she was the only one feeling that way.

She tried to hide her annoyance by sipping her tea. It was a Crescent-Moon blend, it wasn't a flavor that she was particularly fond of, but it did make her wish she was having tea with Mercedes instead. The potentially, relaxing warmth of the tea was lost on that hot, summer day.

"Thank you for joining me," the archbishop said as she gracefully returned her teacup to its saucer. "I had feared that you would be against spending some alone time with me."

That was it exactly but Byleth kept such thoughts to herself. She hid her response by taking another sip. If her lack of response bothered the archbishop, the older woman never showed it as she continued to smile.

The archbishop brought her chair closer to Byleth and the professor stiffened greatly. To either comfort the younger woman or just because she was so happy to be sitting next to Byleth, the archbishop's smile grew. To hide her discomfort Byleth finished the rest of the tea in her cup and quickly realized that there would not be enough tea to help her get through this.

"When you speak with me in this room, you are not speaking with the archbishop, but with Rhea. It is just me," the archbishop said. "I hope that you will be able to relax while you are here."

Byleth looked at the other woman for a second before shifting her gaze towards the teapot. She knew pouring herself a new cup of tea wouldn't be enough to get her out of not speaking. With a newly filled cup, she bit back a sigh.

"Forgive me," Byleth said with such elegance and poise that she hoped that her old, etiquette teacher would finally be proud of her. "But I am still nervous."

The archbishop's smile softened. "What a sweet child you are." As she spoke, she placed a gentle touch on Byleth's cheek, who froze upon contact.

"Oh, my apologies." The older woman returned her hand to her lap and Byleth was able to relax a little. "I should not be treating you like a child. As Jeralt's kin, somehow you do not seem like a stranger to me." Byleth struggled to keep a frown off her face. What she would have killed to have her old impassive face from when she was a child. "Speaking of Jeralt, may I ask if he had ever spoke of me?"

The former mercenary glanced down at her cup. She wanted to hide her silence by taking a sip but didn't want to let the archbishop onto her trick, if the older woman wasn't already aware of it. Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away to look at the holy woman and gave a slight shake of her head.

"I'm afraid, he never spoke of you." After those words left her lips, she feared that she might have gotten her father in some trouble.

The smile finally left the archbishop's face for a moment to be replaced with a small frown. "Oh dear. How heartless of him." With a simple shake of her head the smile returned, and a twinkle of excitement sparkled in her eyes. Byleth hid her discomfort by taking another sip. "In any case, let us endeavor to become closer from here on out." Pressing her lips together, she gave the archbishop a small nod because she refused to say anything to that.

A small silenced settled over them. The archbishop's gaze never left Byleth, who was desperately trying to ignore it. The younger woman clung to her cup as if it were a lifeline, but she knew she couldn't rely on it forever. Taking a deep breath, she finally looked away from her cup to look at the archbishop, who seemed to be delighted over it.

"Since you are here, shall I tell you about the Jeralt I knew?" Byleth light up at that. "By the look of it, you haven't heard much about his time at the monastery, have you?" She shook her head as the archbishop commanded her full attention, and that seemed to please the holy woman as her smile grew.

"When I first met Jeralt, he was quite young. Why, he could not even grow a full beard at that point!" That was a difficult image for Byleth to imagine as her father always had a beard from what she could remember. "On a fateful occasion, the band of mercenaries, he belonged to, fought alongside the Knights of Seiros. I was traveling with the knights at that time and Jeralt jumped in front of an attack meant for me." A small chuckled escaped the archbishop as Byleth leaned forward in her seat. Her father was always criticizing her for doing such a thing and yet he did the same when he was younger; she was going to tease him later for it.

"He was gravely wounded and was on the verge of death." Despite that moment happening so long ago and she knew the outcome, the former mercenary couldn't help the little fear that blossomed in the pit of her stomach at that the thought that she almost lost her father. "I tended to his wounds in a desperate attempt to save his life. Thankfully, my efforts were not in vain." Even though she knew, she still released her held breath. "Jeralt managed to escape a seemingly certain death. I made arrangements for him to receive further care at Garreg Mach. The moment he was deemed fully recovered, I invited him to join the knights."

"Thank you for saving my father!" Byleth shouted as soon as the archbishop had finished speaking. The archbishop gave the younger woman a fond smile as she gripped one of Byleth's hands, who didn't care about the touch.

"He never told me such a story," Byleth said in a near whisper volume. A frown was plastered to her face as her gaze drifted downwards towards their connected hands and it still didn't bother her. She did scowl at the fact that her father never told her, but it was dropped just as quickly as it came. Her father saved the archbishop and in return the archbishop saved her father and yet her father didn't trust the holy woman, why? This seemed like such an important piece of information that she still knew nothing about.

"Well, it is not a story I have often repeated." The archbishop's voice broke through Byleth's thoughts. Once again, the professor brought her gaze up to look at the older woman. "Even at the monastery, there are not many who know that. I tell you this because…" The archbishop paused to give Byleth's hand a small squeeze, and momentarily the younger woman's gaze dropped to their hands. "To me, you are the child of the one, who saved my life all those years ago. And also…."

Byleth tilted her head and the archbishop's smile became strained. With a small shake of her head, the holy woman returned to her normal, neutral smile. For the archbishop's sake, Byleth choose to not comment on it.

"I simply want to say that I trust you." Byleth pressed her lips together and tired to keep her expression neutral. "By coming to visit with me today, you have…Well…Suffice to say that my day is brighter than it otherwise would have been. I thank you for that." Unsure of what to say to that, Byleth simply gave the archbishop a nod.

With the conversation done, they finished off the rest of the tea and just in time for dinner to have arrived. After dinner, Byleth said her goodbyes right when the archbishop was called away. She stopped on the second floor and stared at the closed doors to the Audience Chamber, where the archbishop had been guided too.

She pressed her lips together as she continued to stare at the doors. She honestly didn't know what to make of the archbishop anymore. She still didn't trust the holy woman, not after what she put the Blue Lions through, but that time they just spent together complicated things. The look of expectations still shone bright in the archbishop's eyes, but her gaze was also incredibly soft, along with her voice and touch. During their tea time, the archbishop had reminded Byleth so much of Lady Patricia that she had even wanted to ask the older woman at one point, if she would have been willing to teach Byleth how to do her hair. She tore here eyes away from the door to stare at the hallway, her father's office was in, she wondered what her father would think of her mixed emotions.

Putting those complicated feelings aside, she made her way down to the first floor. The perfect distraction, she decided, would be packing or at least it was until Mercedes and Annette crossed her path. The students seemed so excited to see her.

"Professor!" Annette happily cheered as she ran over. Mercedes followed behind with a reasonable pace.

The healer was looking so much better. It was clear that she was going to need a bit more time before she completely returned to her old self but at least Byleth wouldn't have to worry anymore. As if sensing her professor's thoughts, Mercedes gave her a warm smile.

"You are the person we were hoping to see!" Annette's loud voice echoed in the Reception Hall and the girl blushed because of it.

Byleth tilted her head and Mercedes took over, "we wanted to bake but the dinning hall is closed so we need a professor's permission."

Byleth looked out the window and saw the setting sun. A small frown formed on her lips as she looked back at her students. "You want to bake at this hour?" she asked. "It's will be time for curfew in just a few hours." She was confused as to why they just didn't bake earlier but she never got the chance to voice her question.

"We wanted to bake something for you and Ashe on your travels," Annette said before getting close to whisper quietly to Byleth. "Mercie likes to bake so I am hoping this will help cheer her up a little." Annette stepped back to stand next to her friend. "Please professor!" Byleth gave her students a firm nod before agreeing to supervise.

The professor had no baking skills, she barely had cooking skills. She could make a decent meal to eat, while traveling, but nothing like the simple but amazing meals that Dedue could make. Even though she lacked skills or experience she was confident enough to say that Annette shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. Byleth had heard of a great kitchen fiasco at the hands of Annette and she didn't believe it but now she had no other choice but to do so after witnessing a possible disaster firsthand.

With nothing to really contribute and her panic becoming more and more clear on her face, Byleth was forced to wait outside the kitchen, which went against her supervising duties. She tried to patiently sit and wait at one of the closest tables but every loud crash and yelp, had her fighting the desire to rush inside. Battle was less stressful than this. She whispered a silent prayer that Mercedes would be able to prevent any serious destruction.

Byleth was sure she aged by five years by the time Mercedes and Annette emerged from the kitchen. Any complaint that she had died upon her lips as she saw the genuine smile from Mercedes. She gave Annette a small smile, while the mage gave her a thumbs up, before nearly dropping what she was holding. It was only thanks to the fact that Annette had arrived at the table by the time of the thumbs up that prevented her from dropping her tray of cookies onto the floor, though the nice arrangement was gone.

Two different plates of cookies were placed in front of Byleth. The smell of the fresh baked goods had her mouthwatering. She had never been one for such snacks, only preferring to eat proper meals as they were far more filling, but the delicious smell had her thinking that maybe she should change her preference.

The decision on what batch to try first was made for her at Annette's insistence. Annette's cookies didn't look as nearly as appealing as Mercedes' but since she didn't know what would lead to such a difference, she didn't care. She happily took a bite and in an instance her cheer was gone. Her disgust must have been very clear on her face as concern quickly grew on her students' faces.

She tried, she really did try, to eat her bite but after another attempt to chew, she had to spit it out. Even with her mouth empty the dryness and taste remained and she tried to drown out the taste by taking a drink of the tea, that she had prepared earlier. Even after finishing her cup the strong taste remained but it was at least somewhat bearable. Though, she did have to drink two cups of tea, before the dryness of her mouth became bearable.

Looks were exchanged by the students, while the professor tried to find her bearings. Both students reached for a cookie, in Annette's batch. Byleth managed to stop Mercedes from taking a bite but Annette had stubbornly pushed through and her reaction had been even more over the top than Byleth's.

"I am so sorry Professor," Annette mumbled after a few seconds. She kept her hand covering her mouth and Byleth feared that the younger woman was going to be sick. "It seems that I have mixed up the salt with the sugar."

"It is alright," Byleth weakly answered. She would never say it out loud, but she was grateful for the taste test, because she had no idea how she would have been able to handle that on the road. "It's an honest mistake."

"I promise to not make the same mistake while on kitchen duty!" Byleth's smile became strained because she had completely forgotten that Annette was on kitchen duty while she was away. She felt a gentle touch on her arm from Mercedes, but it brought little comfort when Byleth thought of the possible horrors Annette could release upon the unsuspecting student body.

Even though Mercedes and Annette had assured her that she didn't need to help clean, Byleth still helped. It was her way of thanking her students for preparing such snacks for her and Ashe, as well as not keeping them out too much later after their curfew. Seeing the state of the kitchen after Annette had her way with it, only insured Byleth that she needed to make some quick changes before she left.

With that little aversion done, she had started to walk back towards her dorm, taking the long route, but stopped in front of the green house to stare at the stairs that led to the second story. Thanks to the heavy mood that hung over her and her students for the past few weeks she had completely neglected to look into the issue that there might be more to the possible assassination threat to the archbishop, then what the church believed. Claude had mentioned his suspicions to her, but she had been too distracted to care. Time was running out and she didn't think that she would have the opportunity to look into it when she would return.

It was late but if he was still awake, she was going to seek out Claude. If anyone could find out the possible secrets of the assassination, she was positive it would be him. Also, she would like to see him before she went on her trip.

She stood outside of Claude's door and she could hear some feint talking coming from the other side. She didn't knock right away, not because she was worried about what would happen but because she was staring further down the hallway towards Dimitri's room. It wouldn't surprise her if he was still awake and she couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, he would speak to her before she left. Swallowing that hope, she tore her eyes away from that direction and knocked on Claude's door.

"Who dares to disturb me at such an hour?" Claude asked in his most haughty voice from the other side of the door. He swung his door wide open in a grand gesture and when his eyes landed on her, he smiled. "Well, look who it is." He leaned against the door and she could see Hilda, waving from her spot next to the window. "What can I do for you?"

"Can we talk?" she asked. Smiling, he stepped aside to let her in. When she was in, he closed the door and her eyes landed on Hilda. "Sorry, if I am disturbing you guys."

"Do no worry about it. We were just talking." Claude walked over to Hilda and sat down on the windowsill with her.

Hilda took on a mischievous glint in her eyes. "My Professor!" Hilda said in a high voice, and Byleth arched an eyebrow. "Visiting a student's room at this hour? How scandalous!" Both Claude and Hilda began to giggle and Byleth just silently stared at them. "But this is not your first time visiting a student's room, is it?" Hilda gave the older woman a strange look. Byleth cocked her head to the side. "How many times have you visited Prince Dimitri's room?" Claude frowned a little.

Byleth wrinkled her nose a little, trying and failing, to understand what Hilda was trying to hint at. "Once," she finally decided to answer.

"Just once?" Hilda shouted as she jumped to her feet. "That is so disappointingly boring."

"Hil, it was most likely at the request of his kingliness," Claude started, "you know with it being improper and all."

Byleth silently watched as both Claude and Hilda giggled amongst themselves. They would silently whisper to each other, while every once in awhile glance in the professor's direction. Rolling her eyes, Byleth kept her thoughts to herself as she knew they were just talking nonsense to each other.

"I say they will be married by the end of the school year!" Hilda proclaimed loudly as she looked at Byleth with a sly, little look.

Claude had a frown for a moment before his fake smile took over. He leaned back and stared up at the roof. After a few seconds, he dropped his gaze onto Byleth, and his smile seemed a tiny bit more genuine.

"Naw, they will be engaged," he said as he locked eyes with her. Hilda gasped loudly, drawing Claude's attention towards her. "You know, his princeliness is going to want to do an overly grand wedding so he can show off his lovely bride." Hilda was a bit silent for a moment before nodding vigorously.

A blush spread across Byleth's face and Sothis was snickering in the back of her mind, which wasn't helping. She tried to maintain an indifference expression but when Sothis started to join in the teasing, her act fell apart. Unable to look at anyone, she stared at Claude's messy bed and coughed into her hand to not only calm herself but also draw attention to her and away from that conversation.

"You do realize, I am in the room with you, right?" she asked as she developed an interest in the strange layout of books on the bed.

"Yeah and so?" Hilda quickly responded, and Byleth could feel her blush extending to her ears.

"You guys are terrible," she mumbled quietly with a sigh.

"Do not try to deny it! And you better invite us to your wedding, do you hear? In fact, I want to be one of your bridesmaids!"

A sigh escaped the professor as she still focused on the bed. She had to wonder if they were aware that Dimitri was avoiding her, it wasn't like he was trying to hide it at all. She was sure the school was alive with the rumors and speculations because of it. Her hangover had to help add fire to the rumors, in no small part thanks to a certain ginger haired noble. Did those rumors mean nothing to them?

"Can we please talk about something else?" she asked with another sigh.

She could hear Claude getting up, but she didn't look at him, and instead continued to take an interest in the bed. He stood in front of her and she still refused to look at him and see the dumb smirk, he would surely be sporting along with Hilda. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed and looked at him and was pleased to see he had his standard smile on. She gave him a tiny smile as thanks.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Do you still have your suspicions of the assassination threat?" He arched an eyebrow. "I know you brought up your concerns to me earlier and I'm sorry-"

"Do not apologize. I know you were going through a tough time, so no hard feelings." He rested his hands behind his head, and she gave him a small smile. "I have not really thought about in a while, what about it?"

"I believe you." He arched an eyebrow again. "I had my suspicions about it as well, when I first learned of it, but unfortunately I haven't been able to look into it."

The two stared at each other for a moment. "So," he started out slowly, "you want me to help you look into it?" She nodded. A quiet moment settled over them. She fiddled with her hands before opening her mouth to speak, only for him to speak over her. "I will do it."

"Really?" She relaxed her shoulders without every noticing how tense they were. "Thank you!"

"No problem. That is what friends are for, right?" He gave her a small wink and she smiled widely. "Besides, I like uncovering a good secret. I will be sure to figure everything out before you come back."

With that out of the way, she gave her goodbyes as she did not want to disturb Claude and Hilda anymore. Outside of the room, she released a sigh. Claude's talk about friends helping friends didn't have as strong of a positive impact like she was sure he was hoping for. Ever since she came to Garreg Mach, she had been seeking out his help more than she had been giving back. She didn't want to become a burden for him. She didn't want him to push her away like Dimitri was doing.

At the thought of Dimitri her eyes drifted over to the direction of his room. It was late and she hoped he was getting a goodnights rest. She hoped that his nightmares had stopped plaguing him and that was one of the reasons why he had been avoiding her, because he no longer needed her comfort. She had stopped hoping that he would talk to her. No matter how painful it was, she was just going to wait for him to be ready to come to her.

"Just go talk to him!" Sothis shouted and followed it with a heavy sigh. "We already have been over this. It is not good to keep such feelings to yourself."

Byleth dropped her gaze to stare at the floor before her. She didn't say anything and that only seemed to annoy the mysterious girl as she groaned as loudly as she could. Byleth turned to walk away but it felt like she was frozen in place. She could not tell if it was because of her own reluctance or by Sothis' will. Sothis said nothing about it but that doubt continued to grow within Byleth.

"Byleth, his avoidance is clearly hurting you so speak to him about it." She continued to remain silent and she could feel Sothis pulling at her own hair. "Look it is also obvious that it is hurting the prince as well, so talk to him!"

Byleth shook her head no and Sothis screamed out. "I don't want to force him to do something he doesn't want to do." Whatever force that was prevent her from moving was gone and she began to walk away.

"Look," Sothis started in a calm tone, so Byleth stopped. "Given the prince's…condition, I do not think you should be passive with him."

"Well wouldn't a forceful approach have a worse effect on his… 'condition'?"

Sothis threw her hands up in the air. "You know, if I had a body of my own, I would kick you." Byleth chuckled slightly.

Sothis said no more as Byleth made her way back to her room. Once she started to get close to her room, she could feel her exhaustion taking over. Trying to pack before going to bed wasn't going to happen but that was okay as she would wake up incredibly early, regardless of how much sleep she had gotten beforehand, and so she would just do it then.

Unlocking her door had been a greater challenge than what she was expecting because she struggled with her keys. A sigh escaped her after she dropped her keys. She stared at them for the longest time, too tired to move.

Eventually, she made the effort to pick them up, right as Dedue opened his door. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them saying anything. The silence was broken by Byleth offering up a greeting and Dedue returned it with a bob of his head.

"Do you need help with anything?" Dedue asked when she finally got the door open.

"No," she said quickly but paused when the door was fully opened. "Actually," she turned to face him, "do you mind taking over Canna's cooking duty while I am away?"

"You are worried about Annette, aren't you?" She felt like it would be mean if she said anything, but she also knew that her silence would say everything. "I do not mind."

She let out a sigh of relief. She knew that Felix had more patience for Annette than he had for anyone else, but she was sure that his little patience would be pushed to the limit during kitchen duty. Just as she was about to wish him a goodnight, she had remembered something else. "Do you mind watching over everyone while I am away?" Sylvain would do it, whether she asked or not, given his compassionate nature but he was also vulnerable to emotions, so he needed someone to look after him as well as take over some of the pressure. Dedue nodded and she smiled.

"Thank you, Oak. Goodnight."

"My pleasure, and goodnight as well By."

She gasped loudly but he didn't give her a chance to react before closing the door behind him. Apart of her wanted to knock on his door and confirm that she had heard him right. That was the first time, he had ever called her by her nickname. Decided that it would be best to not disturb him, she went into her room. She went to bed that night with a smile on her face.

**Fifteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

It was clear to everyone that Byleth had not been expecting the Blue Lions and Claude to wake up early and see her off. Dimitri couldn't understand how she didn't expect such a thing, but given his behavior as of late, he slowly started to understand. He had hoped that she would know that he would always help her, no matter how strongly he was avoided her. Because no matter how hard he tried to focus on his revenge his desire to be by her side was so strong.

When he learned that she was leaving, that desire was at its strongest. It wasn't just because he wanted to be with her but because he needed to know that she was safe at all times. He couldn't help but think that it was far too foolish for her to go alone with Ashe, especially when she had been attacked not to long ago. Her indifference to such attacks bothered him greatly and so he had sought out Seteth yesterday for permission to leave with her. His revenge was the most important thing, but he knew he couldn't live with himself if something had happened to her when he could have done something about it. If fate would be kind to him (though he had little hope of it ever being so) and Byleth was still available after he had his revenge, then he would no longer hold himself back, she was his hopeful goal after he had his revenge, and so he needed to keep her safe.

He stepped forward and she arched an eyebrow. Her face was impassive as she quietly looked at him, and it stung him greatly. He silently berated himself for expecting a smile from her; he was so undeserving of one. Clearing his throat, he tried to put his feelings aside before speaking, but he never had a chance to even open his mouth before the sound of a horse filled the air.

Everyone turned to see the intruder, Jeralt. It was silent for a moment as everyone tried to figure out why he was here. Byleth was the first to come to her sense and pushed past Dimitri to go over to her father.

A large smile graced her beautiful face and it was a stab at his heart. Dimitri was a complete, utter fool, he was the one pushing her away and yet he wanted such a smile directed at him and only for him. He scoffed at himself. From what he heard from others he was the perfect, respectable prince and he wondered what all those people would think of him, if they realized what a greedy bastard he was.

When she learned that her father would be traveling with her, her smile grew, and a visible relief washed over her. Dimitri bit the inside of his cheek so hard that he could feel the warmth of blood on his tongue. There was a strong tightness in his chest that he desperately tried to ignore. It was only natural that she would feel the most comfortable around her father. Jeralt was the strongest man that Dimitri knew and the one most familiar with Byleth's situation, so of course, he was the best person to protect her and yet…the bitterness burned greatly in Dimitri's chest. He wanted her to rely on him as much as she did for her father but why should she? What has he done to earn her trust? The tightness now extended to his throat.

Byleth left with Jeralt and Ashe, with Dimitri never bringing up that he had permission to leave with her. He continued to watch her go, after everyone else had started to walk away. His thoughts were broken when someone jostled him when they wrapped their arm around his shoulders.

"Worry not, your princeliness," Claude started before Dimitri turned to look at him. "By will be back in no time."

Dimitri finally looked at Claude and from over the Alliance heir's shoulder he could see Sylvain. Sylvain had a strange look in his eyes, before it vanished into his normal, aloof smile. Sylvain gave the prince a little wave before leaving. Something was off about Sylvain, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

"Yo, princeliness?" At the sound of Claude's voice, Dimitri returned his attention to the more cheerful man. "You okay there?"

"Yes," was the only thing he said.

* * *

Dimitri sat alone in his room reviewing the assignment that Professor Hanneman had assigned that day. It was about basic Reason magic sigils and even on a good day, where he wasn't so distracted, it would have been a difficult thing for him to grasp, as he couldn't seem to wrap his head around Reason sigils; he could barely understand Faith sigils despite having an affinity for that type of magic. Byleth had wanted the Blue Lions to learn Reason magic from an expert while she was away, because she didn't think she was qualified to teach it, despite Annette stating otherwise. The only problem was he couldn't bring himself to care. When she taught, he paid attention no matter what, but for Professor Hanneman's his mind was elsewhere.

It was idiotic for him to be constantly thinking about her. She was perfectly fine; he could feel that deep within him. Jeralt was the best to protect Byleth and yet without having a visual proof that she was okay, he couldn't help the anxiety that was tormenting him. If it was going to eat away at him this much than he wished, he had worked up the nerve to speak up.

With a loud groan, he gave up on the assignment for the moment. Leaning back, he stared up at the roof. He didn't know how much time had passed for him just sitting there staring, but when his neck started to hurt a little, he realized that sitting around wasn't going to help.

With a loud huff, he pushed himself away from his desk. He wasn't going to get anything done with his mind swirling so the best way to counter that was to train until he was too exhausted to worry. With little care to be delicate and proper, he swung his door open and discovered Sylvain on the other side getting ready to knock.

"Perfect timing, Your Highness," Sylvain said as he brought his arm down. Something about his typical, aloof smile didn't seem right, but Dimitri didn't know what was wrong about it. "Can I speak to you for a bit?"

Dimitri stared at the older man for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "Did you trouble another woman and need to be hidden?"

Sylvain burst out laughing and it seemed a like a more genuine laugh, but the smile afterwards still seemed off. "Nothing like that." Dimitri arched an eyebrow. "I do want to talk to you about a pretty lady, though."

He stared at Sylvain for a moment before silently pushing his door open and allowing Sylvain inside. He offered the taller man the chair at the desk, but Sylvain refused and continued to stand. If Sylvain wasn't going to sit than neither would he; it was such a minor thing he was sure no one really noticed but it was Dimitri's way of showing his friends that they were his equal.

Sylvain was quiet as he looked around the room and Dimitri couldn't help but frown. Not only was it strange for Sylvain to go so long without saying anything, it was also strange to see him deliberately avoiding a topic that didn't have to deal with his brother or about the burdens his crest placed upon him. After a few more seconds of silence, Sylvain turned his gaze towards the assignment left out on the desk and started giving suggestion to it, none of which Dimitri responded too.

"What is wrong?" Dimitri finally asked.

Sylvain froze for a brief second, before he turned to Dimitri with that weird smile. The ginger haired man said nothing as he walked over to the window and leaned against it. He then proceeded to look out of it and continued to say nothing.

Dimitri watched Sylvain for a bit more as he was unsure of what to do. This was a Sylvain he was completely unused too. Out of everyone in the Blue Lions, Sylvain had seemed to be the one handling the post Lonato battle best, but maybe it was just an act? But Dimitri had seen Sylvain put on acts in the past and it didn't seem like he was doing one this time.

He was about to walk over to his friend when Sylvain turned to look at him. The smile was gone as the older man stared at Dimitri. The prince was frozen in place as he had no idea what to do.

"So, what is going on between you and By?" Sylvain finally spoke up and Dimitri flinched. The blonde said nothing and pressed his lips together. Narrowing his eyes, Sylvain stood up straight and looked down at the smaller man. "You have been avoiding her. Why?"

Dimitri looked towards his bed, not a single sound escaping from his lips. "She was suffering, and you did nothing!" He gritted his teeth but refused to make a sound. He knew that! He saw the bags under her eyes grow. Heard the exhaustion in her voice and seen that vacant stare that would overtake her sometimes. He saw it all! And yet…if he ran to her…held her in his arms as he comforted her…he knew he wouldn't able to stay away from her. Her allure was too strong, and he was a pathetic dastard!

"Why!" Sylvain never really raised his voice but that time he did, and Dimitri thought it wasn't loud enough. More people needed to know what a wretched being he was.

Sylvain sighed loudly as he sat on the windowsill, but the prince remained standing, staring at his bed. "What is going on with you? She is back in our lives; you should be beyond ecstatic." The Gautier heir's voice had returned to its normal volume, but his tone was the sharpest yet. Dimitri could feel Sylvain's gaze on him, but he refused to match the other man's stare.

"You know, when you started to push us away." Dimitri's face wrinkled up as he desperately tried to keep his emotions off his face. "It hurt. A lot." He had to squeeze his eyes shut. "But we thought we understood why. You are a prince. You had a lot of responsibilities thrusted upon you after…" Sylvain never finished that thought and the prince was grateful for that. "But for By…You were so happy. What is wrong?"

Biting his lower lip, he continued to keep himself closed off. "Talk to us! We are your friends! I want to help!" Unable to trust his voice, Dimitri just shook his head. "What about By?! Do you really want to hurt her!"

A small puff of air escaped his gritted teeth. No, he didn't want to hurt her! He wanted her to be happy! He didn't want her to suffer! He wanted her to look at him and only him! To feel her gentle touch! To see her smile! He wanted so many things and that was the problem. He couldn't have any of that. He didn't deserve any of it.

A silence descended upon them and it was eating away at him. Not seeing her was already hard enough, he didn't need this confrontation on top of all that. Everything would have been so much easier if he had never been reunited with Byleth, and that thought hurt him so much.

"I…," Dimitri started when the silence became too much. "I came to Garreg Mach with a goal in mind." Sylvain said nothing but Dimitri knew that he had the man's attention. Dimitri wanted to say no more, but he had to stop the silence and he owed Sylvian some kind of explanation. "I cannot say what it is, but it is incredibly important."

"Is it more important than By's feelings and wellbeing?"

Another gasp of air escaped him. He had nothing to say to that, and the truth hurt more than the sharpest of blades. He knew it was hypocritical for him to be wallowing in the sorrow that he created. He knew the reason for all his actions, while Byleth knew nothing. She didn't deserve such treatment, but he knew if he told her she would try and help no matter what. She was far too great for him.

A sigh slipped from Sylvain's lips. "Fine. Keep your silence." That comment didn't make Dimitri feel any better. "Are you okay then if By ends up with someone else?" Dimitri flinched. "She is pretty popular, as I am sure you are aware. I am sure suitors will be flocking to her if they learned that the Crown Prince of Faerghus was backing down. She is also of marriageable age too." Dimitri clenched his fists so tightly that the metal on his gauntlets began to give.

"I…," the prince spoke through gritted teeth. "I have no right to ask her to wait for me. I do not know how long it will take me to complete my goal."

"So, you do not mind if she ends up with that Wil guy?" Again, Dimitri flinched. "They are the same age and are pretty close." He said nothing.

"How about Claude?" He had to bite back a snarl. "They are incredibly close, and we do not know what Claude's intentions are."

Dimitri didn't want her to be with anyone that had to be obvious. But he couldn't ask her to wait for him. To put her in a stressful and possibly dangerous situation that even he didn't know what to expect. So, as painful as it would be, he would accept her being with someone else, so long as she was safe and happy. He just didn't want it to be with someone he knew. He didn't want to see the person that would be lucky enough to be with her.

"How about me?"

Dimitri had snapped his head so fast to stare at Sylvain. There was no smirk, no mischievous glint in the older man's eyes. The prince tried to swallow but he found his throat to be incredibly dry.

"You…," Dimitri voice was incredibly fragile, "you love her?"

"No." Suddenly there was a raging firing burning within the prince's chest as he scowled at his friends. "But if your feelings for her turned to love. I cannot see why mine will not be able to do the same." And just like that the fire was extinguished.

Sylvain never once looked away as he spoke. "By is incredible. She is so kind. Strong, carrying, but you already know all that." Dimitri's throat was back to being dryer than a desert. "She is also incredibly beautiful so I will not have to worry about attraction as well as I am sure that I would need no one else but her." The tightness in Dimitri's chest was so tight, he felt like he was struggling to breathe but he made no outward appearance of it. "I never really given much thought to love but By is the type I would hope to truly fall for."

"But…but she is not a noble…" Dimitri had no idea why he said that, but he knew he was grasping for straws. It was stupid but he had no idea what else to do. Sylvain's look never faulted, and Dimitri felt the last bit of his confidence melting away.

"Maybe not but she is the daughter of the Captain of the Knights of Seiros so that will be good enough for my father." Unable to make eye contact, Dimitri's gaze slowly drifted towards the ground. "She also possess a major crest as well as her father, so she will have the greatest chance out of everyone in all of Fodlan to produce a child with a crest and that will be the only thing my father would really care about."

By the end of it, Dimitri was staring at Sylvain's feet because he didn't have the strength to look up. Sylvain had walked over to him, to stand before the prince, and yet Dimitri still didn't have the strength to look up. A sigh escaped the older man, while Dimitri's eyes burned with the need to blink but he wouldn't.

"I am going to be forced to get married one day, so I would like to take matters into my own hands and marry someone wonderful like By." Even if Dimitri could find his voice, he would have no thoughts to speak of. "I hope there will be no hard feelings between us, but I am going to go after By." And with that Sylvain left, leaving Dimitri to stew in his thoughts all alone.

* * *

A/N: Dimitri never told Dedue to look over Byleth but Dedue is doing so because he wants to, and he knows that Byleth will one day become his queen, even if Dimitri is being difficult about it.

So, I'm trying to get back in the mood of reading fanfics and I have seen a lot of mermaid AUs art floating around so I was wondering if anyone had any Three Houses mermaid AU fics to suggest. I am already reading "Tempest Waves" by Tacticiangirl so you should all check it out if you haven't already.

Head cannon notes:

If someone posses a major crest they are more likely to produce a child with the crest. More often than not it will be with the crest of the major crest, but a minor crest of the other blood isn't too unheard of, and the chances are still higher than parents with just minor crest.


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Sorry for the late update. First, I got really into Dragon Quest XI that game consumed all of my free time. My second came when I got to the Dimitri part of this chapter and was hit was a really bad case of writer's block. That boy is even given me a hard time.

Thank you livmoores (on AO3) for helping me with this chapter. It probably wouldn't have been half as good without your idea.

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Sixteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Byleth tried not to show it but she was beyond relieved to have her father traveling with her and Ashe. She was never worried for hers and Ashe's safety but having her father there was a comfort she didn't know that she needed. It was like the old days where they would just wander from place to place and it was only then that she realized just how much she missed that.

Since they were traveling outside the eyes of the church, they were free to talk openly. There was so much she had to discuss with her father and yet she hadn't said anything. All day yesterday they had discussed how she was getting used to being a professor and living at Garreg Mach; she was surprised to hear from her father that maybe it was a good thing that they moved there and last month she might have agreed with that but this month had her second guessing that. She had carefully avoided talking about the archbishop and Dimitri despite those being the two topics that she wanted to discuss the most. She had no idea where to start with bringing up either of them as well as to how she wanted to talk about them.

Night had descended and Ashe had retired to the tent, he was sharing with Jeralt. Ever since he learned that he would finally be able to see his siblings he had been able to sleep soundly. Byleth wished she had acted earlier on calming that fear.

She quietly sat in front of the campfire watching it flicker, while her father whittled away at some wood carving. He had already told her to get some sleep since she was going to have the second watch, regardless of what either of them wanted, but as hard as she tried sleep was escaping her. She knew what the issue was that was keeping her awake, but she still couldn't bring herself to say anything. All she could do was wait for her father to finally get tired of the silence and get her to speak but that could take a long while, given both of their natures.

Lucky for her it didn't take too long before the silence was broken by him. Putting away his little project, he gave her a pointed stare. That was his sign for her to talk and yet her mouth was sealed shut. Her gaze drifted away from him to go back to watching the fire. A loud sigh filled the area as he got up to sit next to her.

"Okay kid, what's wrong?" he finally asked. She looked up at him for a moment before dropping her gaze onto the fire again. There was a brief silence, but it didn't last long. The father daughter pair were no strangers to long bouts of silence but when the silence was born from the young woman being lost in her thoughts it never lasted long. "Is it about the prince or the archbishop? Or maybe it's about both?" Her eyes swiftly snapped to his and he smirked. "You were really careful about talking about them yesterday."

She puffed out her cheeks as she glared at the fire, as if it were the one that had offended her. Laughing loudly, he smacked her on the back hard and her glare now settled on him, causing him to laugh harder. She couldn't bring herself to stop his laughter, she just hoped that it didn't wake up Ashe.

The lighter mood continued for a bit longer before her father dropped it completely. His pointed stare came back, and it was her turn to sigh. She knew she needed to talk as her father had already discovered the topics, but it didn't make it any easier to find the words to form the thoughts that were still all over the place.

With a sigh, she finally spoke, "the archbishop told me about how you two met." When she first heard the story, she thought about teasing her father over his recklessness but when she thought about more why the archbishop had told her that story, she had all but forgotten about that. She still had no idea what to make of the archbishop. Byleth wasn't so clueless as to not see the manipulative tactic that the archbishop used, talking about the one topic that could relate Byleth to her; and yet the professor was still so conflicted. The feelings she felt at that time had reminded her of the very small feelings that Lady Patricia had made her feel and there were also the feelings of Sothis' that were playing their part. Sothis' emotions were influencing Byleth a little, but the mysterious girl never commented on it.

Her father had been quiet for a bit, so she spared him a small glance, and he was glaring at the fire. As if sensing her gaze, he spoke, "did she now?" was all he said in a quiet whisper. He continued to glare at the fire for a while longer. With a deep breath he tore his gaze away to stare at the stars above. The silence returned and she had no intention of breaking it.

With a sigh the tension finally left his shoulder. "Long, long, so long ago I saved Lady Rhea by taking a hit for her and in return she saved my life, and I will admit in a way I still don't know how." He continued to stare up at the stars as if that moment were flashing before his eyes. "I was amazed by her kindness; I had vowed to serve her and gave up my life as a mercenary to become a Knight of Seiros. Only the goddess remembers how many years I gave to serve Lady Rhea."

She wrinkled her nose as she went back to watching the fire. He told her to be weary of the archbishop and for the most part she had been, but she was getting the feeling that her father wasn't taking it as seriously as she was. He called the archbishop "Lady Rhea" something Byleth had been avoiding greatly to keep up a distance but was her father capable of doing the same? Did he even want to?

He dropped his gaze onto the fire and a small scowl darkened his face, despite the bright light illuminating him. "I might have dedicated much of my life to her but be careful to not do the same." He looked at her and she tore her gaze away from the light to meet his. "She is not to be trusted!"

_Why?_ She wanted to ask but the word died upon her tongue before she could even think to open her mouth. She so desperately wanted to know what the holy woman could have possibly done to destroy years of trust and why her father had been so easily accepting of returning to Garreg Mach. Those questions plagued her and yet she could never bring herself to ask and she didn't even know why.

Biting back a sigh she gave her father a nod. If that satisfied him, she did not know as she couldn't bring herself to look at him anymore. The silence returned and she was okay with that.

Despite her acceptance of the stillness, it was broken all too quickly. "So," he drew out that one word until she looked at him, "what about the prince that is troubling you?" She pressed her lips together and went back to watching the fire. "He was another topic you were avoiding." After the heaviness of the talk about the archbishop she wasn't ready to start another one. "Kid, I know something about the prince is bothering you. You never stop talking about him, no matter how annoying it is to hear." She gave him a sideways glare and he just smirked at her.

With a little nudge, she sighed and dropped her tiny glare. She pulled her knees towards her so that she could rest her head upon them. The fire danced to some calming beat that eluded her.

"Have…have you looked into his eyes since we reunited?" She didn't look at her father when she asked it, but when she got no response after a few moments, she finally glanced at him. His lips were pressed tightly together and whatever teasing that he had in his eyes earlier, was gone, not a trace of it to be found.

"So, you've noticed the darkness, huh?" She gave him a nod. With a sigh he leaned back and looked beyond the fire. Sothis had made sure that Byleth couldn't deny Dimitri's darkness, but knowing that her father saw it made it even more real.

"As of late he has been avoiding me and I don't know why. I have been giving him his space, but I don't know if that is the right thing to do anymore." Her fingers dug into her legs as she recalled how desperate Dimitri was to avoid her.

He didn't respond right away and just continued to stare at nothing. With a groan he got up and stretched out his back, but she remained locked in place, unable to move. After another groan he stopped his stretching to look at her.

"To be honest kid, I don't really know." She frowned but gave him a small nod. "But if I were you, I wouldn't give him anymore space." She arched an eyebrow. "Before the Tragedy the prince had you and his father to help him deal with his problems but in a short time, he lost you both." Her gaze slowly drifted downwards and morphed into a small glare.

"I can't even begin to imagine how difficult his life had to become once you two were ripped apart." She pressed her lips together. "He must have had to learn how to deal with his problems all alone and doesn't know how to ask for help anymore." She glared at the ground as if it were the one that forced Dimitri to suffer alone.

"So" her father paused until she looked at him, "he probably needs your help and might not even be aware of that fact." She just stared at her father, unsure of what to say or what to make of all her thoughts. "So, even if he doesn't realize it, I think he is waiting for you to help him."

Her mouth hung open, but her mind was racing with too many thoughts to even think of words to say. If what her father said was true then she wished she had acted on Sothis' advice, instead of leaving Dimitri to suffer longer. Shutting her mouth, she gave her father a firm nod as she vowed to go see Dimitri as soon as she returned to Garreg Mach.

Giving his daughter a smile, he started to nudge her to get onto her feet. Once she was standing, he then started to push her towards her tent. She gave him a small frown, but his smile remained.

"Alright, off to bed with you." Her frown soon gave away to a smile as it was nice to be told to go to sleep by her father again. It had been too long since the last time he was able to wish her a goodnight.

**Seventeenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

It had been two days since Sylvain's declaration and besides the clear distance that the Gautier heir had set up, Dimitri was surprised at how little everything had changed. With the exception of Dedue, he was off on his own in the Golden Deer classroom. The rest of the Blue Lions had mingled in with the Golden Deer, while he remained stuck in place. In his determination to avoid Byleth he didn't realize that he had pushed everyone else away as well.

How isolated he had made himself had become more apparent when Professor Hanneman had gathered everyone together and Dimitri and Dedue had stayed off to the side. Claude had easily taken over the leadership role of the Blue Lions that Dimitri had left vacant. Dimitri was supposed to be a leader that was his birthright and yet he was failing at it. It was already hard enough with Felix challenging his authority but now he was just abandoning it and all because he was weak. The voices didn't waste this opportunity to mock him about it, as if he had needed to give them more fuel.

When the class broke up into groups of three, he was amazed at how quickly the groups had formed. In the past he would have had no trouble forming a group as his friends would flock to him but now only Dedue had stayed by his side. Felix naturally was going to avoid him like the plague, and with how things were going with Sylvain it came as no surprise when he formed a group with others. Ingrid had been a real shock when she had joined another group, but he knew he was the major one at fault and of course her distrust of Dedue couldn't be ignored.

In the end Marianne had joined him and Dedue. She was a sweet girl, who really cared about Ashe, but it was still a painful realization. He really didn't want this distance between him and his friends, especially not after they were finally getting close again. Everything was so painful, but he couldn't stop what he was doing; he just hoped everyone would be willing to forgive him after he was finished.

With Byleth gone, Dimitri had hoped to take the opportunity to reach out to his friends again. He felt terrible for having to do this when she was away, but he knew if she was there, he wouldn't have the courage to do so. Even though he really wanted to be close with his friends, he struggled to find the motivation to do so. Byleth was the only one he really needed to avoid and yet he couldn't step forward. It seemed so unfair to avoid her and no one else but it wasn't like he really wanted to avoid her in the first place, if only he wasn't such a weak coward.

During lunch Dimitri saw it as the perfect opportunity to mingle with his friends again. At one table sat his friend with some of the Gold Deer. A small smile grew on his face as he approached, but the closer he got the heavier his footsteps became.

Eventually, his footsteps became too heavy for him to keep going and he stopped short of reaching their table. Silently, he watched his friends talk and none of them seemed to notice him besides Sylvain, who gave him a flat stare. The smile dropped from his face. He wanted his friends again but what right did he have to such a thing? He wasn't avoiding his friends on purpose, but it was a side effect, so maybe it was best that he continued to avoid them? If he got close to them again, he could easily imagine that it would make it even harder for him to avoid Byleth, so despite his feelings it was probably for the best that he continued to keep his distance from them.

Like the coward he was, he sat at a table away from everyone and Dedue had joined him. He wished Dedue wouldn't isolate himself too, but he knew it would be pointless to say anything about it. Swallowing his sigh, Dimitri ate his meal in silence. It had been four years since he had last tasted anything but as of late food had become an even blander taste; and it was starting to affect his appetite greatly.

He knew Dedue was watching him, pushing his food around and yet he couldn't bring himself to really eat. His thoughts were broken when he heard a tray being placed down in front of him. Swiftly, his head snapped up to see who it was, Mercedes. Not even aware of her greeting he looked at the table, where their friends sat, and Annette was there talking with Lysithea. Unsure of what to say or how to make sense of her actions, he could only stare at Mercedes, who smiled at him as she sat down.

He opened his mouth several times and closed it just as many. Not a single thought won and thus he couldn't think of a thing to say; he didn't even greet Mercedes. If she was bothered by his actions, she never showed it, not that he ever expected her to do so.

It wasn't long before Mercedes helped to break him free of his thoughts by starting a small conversation with Dedue about their lunch; and he was incredibly thankful for it but never voiced it. She flashed him her typical smile after a few more seconds of him staring at her and her smile was quite calming. It was wonderful to see her smiling again and he knew Byleth had worked hard for that, while he foolishly chose to ignore the healer's suffering. At the thought of the woman, he so longed for, his heart dropped along with his gaze.

"Are you worried about the professor?" Mercedes asked and he looked up at her for a moment before he dropped his gaze back onto his food. Yes. No. He wasn't sure. He knew she was fine; she did have Jeralt with her, after all. But he found himself constantly thinking about her. He knew it wasn't because she had left, he had been thinking about her constantly since he started avoiding her, which just made Sylvain's words all the more painful. He knew full well of her suffering and yet he viciously ignored it.

He gave up on pushing his food around and shoved it aside. Dedue had stopped eating because of him and Dimitri was glad for his friend's concern and loyalty as well as hated Dedue's self-sacrificing nature. Dimitri didn't get up, as much as he just wanted to go to the training ground and empty his mind in what little time they had left before class, he didn't want to force Dedue to stop eating and so he remained seated. After some gesturing from Dimitri, Dedue went back to finishing his meal, a bit reluctantly though. Mercedes never commented on the prince's lack of appetite and it was just another thing from her that he was grateful for.

After a few minutes Dedue had finished his meal. Dimitri knew that his friend had rushed his meal because of him but he said nothing as he knew Dedue would just deny it. Mercedes was still taking her time eating and didn't seem bothered that the men had rushed theirs, and Dimitri couldn't help but think that she was too patient with him; everyone was really, except for Felix and Dimitri appreciated the curt man greatly for it.

As he got up, he made sure to give Mercedes his proper thanks to which she brushed it off, but he was already expecting that. Once he was at his full height, she stopped him. "I am sorry to trouble you," she started and paused when he shook his head, to which she smiled. "But I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me some swordsmanship."

He was about to ask her why she didn't ask Felix but that thought quickly died. Even if Felix actually did agree to teaching, Dimitri couldn't imagine the swordsman being a very patient teacher. Still the thought was somewhat amusing.

"I do not mind teaching you," he said, and she flashed him a larger than normal smile. "But may I ask why? Do you not want to be a Bishop? Sword training is not necessary for that exam if I recall correctly."

The smile left Mercedes' face as she looked down at her food. He was about to apologize when she spoke, "I do…but in the last battle I realized how powerless I was by just focusing on Faith magic." The hand that held her spoon, tightened its grip as she locked eyes with him. "I want to help as many people as I can and I realized that if I focused only on Faith magic, I won't be able to do that."

He gave her a nod when he saw her resolve burning in her eyes. "I also want to not only impress Professor Byleth by expanding my skills when she returns but I also want her to know that she no longer needs to worry about me." He had nothing to say to that so all he could do was give her another nod.

**Eighteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

It didn't take long to reach Castle Rowe. The count was there to welcome them upon their arrival but he did not stay very long. Ashe had been smiling all throughout their travels but as soon as he laid eyes on Count Rowe and was told that his siblings were waiting for him, he was sporting the largest smile she had ever seen from him and she couldn't help but smile as well. A nice warmth settled in her stomach as she watched a butler escort Ashe to his siblings.

Byleth and Jeralt didn't receive anywhere near as warm as a welcome as Ashe did. None of the servants would properly look at them and the count even glared at them before he left. Such receptions were nothing new to them and it was something they usually received whenever they had to deal with nobles, but it did manage to bother her greatly to experience it from a Faerghus noble again.

Not wanting to deal with anyone Jeralt left to attend to their horses, leaving her alone to search for Ashe. Ashe had always talked about introducing her to his siblings and he brought it up a lot on their trek over, but she didn't know if she should visit them so soon. She wanted him to have some alone time with them but being alone in such a hostile environment wasn't ideal either.

In the end, she decided to wander around the castle with the excuse that she was lost if anyone asked her. Her little adventure was going relatively well as most people seemed to avoid her (and she helped them do so), but her adventure took on a sour note when she had run into the count. The hostility she felt from him when she was with her father was nothing compared to what she experienced alone; she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hated for no reason.

With narrowed eyes he glared at her as she tried to walk past him after giving him a proper bow. "You are Byleth Eisner, correct?" he asked with his voice completely flat. Instinctively she stiffed but quickly relaxed her body so that he wouldn't suspect anything.

She and her father had introduced themselves when they first arrived, so it wasn't surprising that he knew her name, but he spoke it with such certainty that it didn't seem right to her. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face him. All her uncertainties were hidden behind her blank expression.

"You were Prince Dimitri's mistress, were you not?" Despite not wanting to show anything, she couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at him. "From what I was told you were chased out of the Kingdom." Desperate to maintain her nonchalant attitude, she smothered her face to her standard expression but in order to release some of her nervous energy she clenched her fists tightly and was unable to open them yet.

He raised his chin slightly to look even more down upon her and she started to bite her cheek in another secretive attempt to release some energy. "Unable to gain influence in the Kingdom you decided to try your hand at seducing your way through the church?" That line felt like a slap to the face and her composure fell apart. "And now that the prince is back in your life are you going to try and worm your way back into your old position?"

She didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. Biting her lip, she stared at the floor so that she wouldn't glare at the lord. She tried to prevent her body from shaking by clenching her fists as tightly as she could, but it did very little in that regard.

She could feel his gaze on her, but she refused to lift her head. With a loud scoff, he finally left but she still kept her head low. Squeezing her eyes shut she fiercely tried to calm her emotion, but it only managed to upset her more, but that was more than likely the result of her having no idea how to calm herself down.

"Byleth," Sothis started in a soothing tone.

"I'm fine," Byleth snapped faster than she was expecting too. As if she was looking at Sothis, she looked off to the side to avoid the imaginary gaze.

She could feel Sothis' concern and it wasn't something the professor wanted to deal with. Raising her head, she looked in the direction that the count had walked in and thankfully he was out of sight. Soon a chuckle ripped through her before she cut it short with a violent shake of her head.

"It's nice to see that the Kingdom's nobility hasn't changed in the four years that I was away! They still think a child could be so cunning and devious!" The smirk that she wore when she said that quickly fell away, when she realized that the bitterness hadn't gone away. Once again, her gaze fell to the floor.

"Hey," Sothis called but Byleth didn't react to it. "How about we go check up on Ashe and meet his siblings?" The former mercenary remained quiet, but she did do a small bob of her head as a nod.

Getting direction from a servant was a challenge. Hearing her being called a whore behind her back strangely brought her a small warmth of nostalgia; of course, it was nothing compared to the anger it brought as well. She couldn't help but wonder what they would think if they knew that the prince was avoiding her, would it change their thoughts? She did highly doubt that. While she tried to walk through the castle with her head held high, she did fear that someone would eventually blame her for the Tragedy of Duscur; she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if someone accused her of that.

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared eyes wide at the floor as a new fear penetrated her numbness. Was it possible that Dimitri was avoiding her because he didn't want rumors spreading that his mistress had returned? Did that rumor bother him a lot more than it bothered her? Did he not want people thinking that she was his mistress because he could do so much better? Those thoughts didn't last long before Sothis shut them down. Sothis words were comforting if not a bit confusing. She kept mentioning how there was no way in the Eternal Flame that the prince wouldn't want people thinking that Byleth belonged to him. Byleth didn't really understand it all but she happily accepted it so that she wouldn't have to think about that fear for much longer.

It took a while but eventually she made it to the room that Ashe and his siblings were staying in, she stood outside the closed door, her hands glued to her side. The point of her little adventure was to give Ashe some much needed alone time with his siblings and she wasn't sure if she had given him enough.

With a lot of insistence from Sothis, she finally worked up the courage to knock. Her knock sounded especially loud to her, despite her still hearing sounds from the other side of the door. When she realized that it might be best to avoid Ashe and his siblings so that they wouldn't get tangled in a mess of rumors that surrounded her, the door was swung open by a boy that nearly looked like a splitting image of Ashe but he had brown eyes and was obviously shorter.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Ashe's voice broke their little staring contest as both looked in the direction that the voice was coming from. "Adriane, who is it?" asked the older brother as he walked into view. He gasped when he spotted his professor. "Professor! I was wondering where you went." He rushed to the door to push it open wider and started to gesture for her to enter.

His smile was positively blinding and all the discomfort she had been feeling, instantly vanished. As soon as she was in the room she was introduced to his siblings. Adriane had been the younger brother that stayed relatively close to her upon her entry, his large eyes were watching her carefully, but he never said anything. Alisha was the name of Ashe's younger sister and her brown eyes were so pure that she reminded Byleth so much of Dimitri when he was that age. Alisha managed to put Byleth's heart at ease in a way she hadn't felt in weeks.

"You are even prettier than Ashe said!" Alisha said as she walked over to the other woman. With a bright red face, Ashe screamed out his sister's name, but the young girl didn't seem to care. "You could be a princess with how pretty you are." Ashe screamed out Alisha's name again and again she didn't care as she held out her doll to Byleth. "Will you play dollies with me?"

Byleth took the doll and looked at it for a moment. When she was growing up, she often saw girls with such similar toys. She never wanted one because Dimitri was never interested in them, but now that she was holding one and saw the excitement in Alisha's eyes, she couldn't help but wonder that she might have missed out when she was a child. Alisha's smile was infectious when Byleth agreed and the former mercenary found herself forgetting all about her worries when Alisha began to drag her further into the room and towards an area filled with toys. Adriane had finally left Byleth's side to rush on ahead of them to "set up" the play area.

* * *

Byleth didn't know how long she spent with Ashe and his siblings and she didn't care. During her time with them she didn't have to think about any of the issues that had been plaguing her, she was free to forget them and she did. His siblings were so sweet, and she was happy to see that it was a trait that ran in the Ubert family.

At some point all the Ubert siblings had tired themselves out and Byleth had to tuck them in; well she managed to tuck in Adriane and Alisha, Ashe proved to be too difficult to do so without waking him so she just threw a blanket over him. She didn't really want to leave them and wanted to spend the night with them since they looked so at peace but she knew her father wouldn't approve and so she reluctantly left. When she left the room and discovered the hallway to be dark, she realized that it was a lot later than she realized.

While her first walk through the castle had been uncomfortable, she now wandered through it with some peace. A small smile had danced upon her lips as she made her way towards her room, but it didn't stay long. Right when she was about to turn a corner, she could hear voices and instantly she was on guard and pressed herself against the wall. Once upon a time she wouldn't have been so guarded but now she couldn't trust mysterious voices at night, in a place she wasn't used to.

"It disgusts me that the poor count has to give board to two wretched church officials," a male voice said. "This whole situation is the fault of the deplorable church! Lord Lonato didn't need to die!" Byleth pressed her lips together and closed her eyes as she recalled that man in his final moments.

"I heard that the woman that came, took part in the battle against Lord Lonato and even helped kill him and she's the one teaching his poor son," a woman's voice said. Byleth bit down on her lip as it was a painful fact that she couldn't deny. The man's scornful slur reflected greatly, her internal struggle.

"It getting worse!" The man stopped his cursing and Byleth held her breath. "That woman is also supposedly the prince's mistress." The man gasped. "You know the one they say helped with the Tragedy because she was growing impatient with how long it was taking for her to gain power."

Byleth turned out the man's curses as she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. She squeezed her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to drown out the others' voices. She was just a professor, she barely had any influence in the church, nowhere near enough to stop a battle; she wasn't even powerful enough to keep her students out of that battle. What more did they want from her? Or what kind of woman did they think she was? And she was barely sixteen when the Tragedy happened, how can they believe that she had played some part in it? She would never do that! She loved King Lambert and Glenn too much to have even entertained such a thought. She didn't want power! Why did everyone think that she did?

When Sothis' words were able to break through the chaos that was Byleth's mind, the former mercenary finally had the thought to run away. No thoughts came to her as she ran and that worked out just perfectly for her. She wasn't sure how she managed to find an alternative route to the room, her and her father were staying in, and she didn't give a damn to figure it out.

All thoughts to being polite were gone as she slammed open the door and startled her father. At the sight of him, she felt everything leaving her and she dropped to her knees. In an alarm, he rushed to her side, but she didn't say anything to calm him; she couldn't even think of anything to say.

Delicately he helped her to her bed and once she was upon it, she felt everything come back to her. She glared fiercely at the floor, but it gave away to a loud groan. Her body shook and she didn't know what to do nor did she know how to stop those people's words from repeating in her mind. She swallowed the scream she so desperately wanted to release and buried her face in her hands as an attempt to try and seal it away.

Her father's words never reached her. She wasn't even aware of his presence anymore as she rocked her body. Her mind echoed with the shouts that she would never release, that she was a child or that she was a simple professor.

Everything came to a sudden stop when she felt arms wrap around her and pull her towards someone. Slowly she pulled her hands away to see that she was being pressed against her father and that he was whispering calming words to her. It took another second for everything to leave her again and she collapsed against him. Not a single word escaped her as she didn't dare interrupt the sweet words that her father was so freely sharing. It took her some time for her to forget those awful things she heard and just focus on her father and how safe she felt by his side.

* * *

A/N: Still struggling a little with writer's block so I apologize if the next chapter is delayed. I also got into JoJo so that's also sucking up a lot of my free time.

On a side note, and this probably a late note, but I finally got around to posting my other Dimileyth story, "Salvation at the Hands of a Demon". It is rated mature so read at your own risk. I promise to not update that one until I update "Blue Eyes" again to make up for the late update.

You guys stay safe and healthy!


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: I'm sorry for this chapter being especially late, but I think this chapter was cursed. At first, I was just super stressed, and it killed my desire to write, but when I was finally in the mood to right -Bam- I had a medical issue that prevented me from writing. After a week and I was better to start writing, I then developed a different medical issue. Recovered from that and then was hit with a 9-hour long power outage (which given some places at the moment, I should be blessed for having such a short one), along with terrible air quality so I can't even go out and walk to help clear my mind. I am better now so there will be no need to worry about my health.

Despite all that I was finally able to muster up this chapter. Sorry, it's a small one but at this point I kind of just wanted to be done with it. If you don't hear from me by the end of next month then blame this chapter, because I'm sure I pissed off fate or something for writing it.

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Nineteenth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Just as he promised Dimitri had attempted to teach Mercedes how to wield a sword, but it had gone incredibly poorly. When the sword flew out of her hands and nearly struck him that should have been all the signs, he needed to see that maybe Mercedes wasn't cut out for martial weapons, but he didn't head that warning. It wasn't until she stumbled with a lance and nearly impaled another student that he decided to stop for the day before they could see what near horror she could commit with an axe. He had no intensions of giving up on her, especially when she was so determined but he did realize that he was going to need to plan out things before they could continue.

Mercedes was not daunted by her missteps and she only seemed to grow more confident by the end of their lesson. Looking at her smiling face only made Dimitri realize he did not give her enough credit. Mercedes was so much stronger than he realized, something he couldn't say about himself. Seeing her smilingly only reminded him of how much of a failure he was.

Dimitri sat at his desk starring at the few meager notes had managed to take. Everything would be so much easier if he had found anything by now and yet he had so little. It had been seven months since he came to Garreg Mach and he had so little to show of it. Byleth had been his excuse but the days without her had him realizing that he was the true problem.

With a growl, he slammed his fists down onto his desk, with barely enough sense to hold himself back enough to not break it. What little papers he had on it scattered about and he didn't care. The force of his slam had knocked over the little patch that Byleth had given him, from its little cubby, and it fell before him.

His eyes were glued to the patch. Even without touching it, he could feel the comforting warmth of Byleth's magic emitting from it. Ever since he found out that she was alive that patch had never left his side and at times it even became a lifeline but since he started to distance himself from her, he had hid the patch on his desk. He knew the constant feel of that warmth it emitted would weaken his resolve greatly, and that fear was still holding him back as he dared not reach for it.

He stared at the worn-down patch as if it would tell him all he needed to know. He had no idea how long he had been staring at it before he released a heavy sigh. With a weak resolve he reached out for it, but he froze before he could touch it.

Lifeless fingers skimmed over the patch and with wide eyes Dimitri watched those fingers retreat. His breath was caught in his throat as he felt a weight pressing down on him. His hand that still lingered in the air was now balled into a tight fist as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Such a wonderful gift is wasted on you," his father sneered. "If only I had received that bracelet instead, how different would everything be?" A lump formed in Dimitri's throat. "Byleth would not be suffering right now because of my horrible son."

The prince gritted his teeth but all at once his strength left him and he felt the weight crushing him. The pressure increased and yet he didn't struggle against it. They continued to stay like that for a moment longer before his father scoffed and got off him.

"How much longer must you make us wait, my pitiful son?"

Dimitri couldn't answer even if he wanted too. As if he was even more dissatisfied with his son the ghost of his father left. Still holding his breath, he remained frozen, waiting for the ghost of another to come and mock him. When the need for air became to strong, he finally moved by once again slamming his hands on his desk, but incredibly weakly. A small gasp escaped him as he started at the little, leather patch.

**Twentieth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Byleth wanted to feel bad about Ashe having to leave his siblings so soon but leaving Castle Rowe as quickly as possible was too pleasing of a thought. Seeing Ashe's disappointment had been hard but as soon as the castle was out of sight the boy was all smiles. He had almost returned to his old self, from before the battle with Lord Lonato, but now he had a slight hard edge from his experience. Regardless, Byleth was incredibly glad for his cheer to be back and to not see any darkness in his eyes.

Traveling had been relatively easy and even some what boring. With Ashe in a much better mood Byleth had decided that this would be a perfect opportunity for Ashe to learn how to ride a horse. He had some basic knowledge from the little training he got from Lord Lonato. At first, he was against it but after some coaxing he gave in, which helped to distract them a little from the long travel.

Night had descended on yet another, uneventful day and Byleth was okay with that. It had been so long since she actually got to sit and enjoy the silence and not have some negative thought blaring down on her. Thanks to the peace she was able to start working on Claude's gift, something she had fallen behind on. Laid out before her was a neatly cut peace of leather that she had began to etch some details along the top and the bottom. A smile warmed its way onto her face as she realized she was finally looking forward to Claude's birthday.

"Professor, what's that?" Ashe asked as he walked over to her, carrying two bowls of that night's supper.

She gave him a small smile as she accepted her bowl. "It's going to be my gift to Claude," she said as she went back to looking at the leather. When she thought about what Claude's reaction might be, her smile grew. "I'm going to make him a quiver, but I can't decide on what the main design on it should be." She rested her chin on her knuckles as she looked over the leather. She usually went for the default crest design but after making Sylvain's shield, she realized that her friends deserved more personal designs for their new gifts, but such creativity was still beyond her.

"Wow. You are quite skill Professor." She chuckled at Ashes' genuine surprise. Carefully, he sat down in a spot that would allow for him to be close and yet far enough so that he wouldn't be in her way. "I'm sure Claude will love it."

Silently, she stared at him for a bit, wondering why he address Claude so differently than he did Dimitri. She decided to not dwell on that curiosity as she returned her attention back to the leather. She ran her fingers over it, trying to imagine what image would fit Claude best.

"You know," she spoke after a moment of silence. She paused to look at him and had to suppress a giggle when she discovered his bug eyes and mouth full of food. "I can make you one for your birthday, if you want."

With amusement she watched as he struggled to swallow his food. After some great effort he managed to do so but it did look to be a bit painful to do so. With that little hassle taken care of, he started to wave his hands in front of him.

"There really is no need for you to go out of your way to do such a thing for me!" She arched an eyebrow. "You have already done so much for me that I know that I will never be able to pay you back for." As he finished that sentence his gaze drifted downwards.

Wordlessly, she got up to sit next to him and he gave her little acknowledgement with a tiny bob of his head. "It's alright." Those words got him to look at her. "I did everything because you are my precious student." A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks, but he was clearly going to object and so she silenced him by rubbing his head. "Now, I want to make you a gift because you are my friend." His eyes widen and his cheeks darkened. "So, would you like me to make you a quiver? After all a knight needs to have the best equipment and I can guarantee my quality." His eyes dropped as a small smile settled on his face. Silently, he gave her a nod to which she gave him a smile and a small pat on the head.

They ate their meal in relatively silence. It was comfortable and both seem to be enjoying it. The mood was so good that she didn't dare disturb it by getting up to get seconds, despite her still being hungry.

For as much as she was enjoying the peace, it didn't last long. Everything came to a halting end, when an arrow pierced Byleth in the chest knocking her over. When she quickly got onto her feet, she discovered that Ashe was riddled with arrows. She didn't even have the time to even think to scream out before she felt the uncomfortable pull of time stopping. Her eyes were glued to Ashe and it wasn't until Sothis pulled her into the familiar darkness that Byleth returned to her senses. Her mind was screaming, and it felt like her blood was boiling but she ignored all so that to she could focus on Sothis.

"All is not lost. The boy can still be saved," Sothis said and Byleth released a held breath. The two women shared a small nod before the flow of magic pulled back the hands of time.

Almost as if everything had been a horrible nightmare, the professor found herself back in her moment of peace. So blissfully unaware of the horror that awaited him, Ashe finished off the remains of his meal. Seeing him alive and well had calmed her greatly. With a visual confirmation that he was alright, had allowed her to realize another horror; in her panic she had forgot to check to see if her father was alright.

She wanted to check on him, to get a visual confirmation that her father was still there, but she wasn't given a chance when Sothis shouted her warning. Giving Ashe no warning, Byleth shoved the boy to the ground while shouting to her father about the ambush. She desperately tried to shove her worry about her father to the side and instead focus on the fact that she knew he would be okay; he was after all the most powerful person she knew.

Her actions managed to protect Ashe, but she wasn't so lucky as an arrow still managed to pierce her shoulder. With little concern she pulled out the arrow and stood up, ready for battle. Her eyes scanned the area before her and yet she could not see her attackers that lurked in the shadows.

Ashe's struggle to understand what was going on was drowned out as malicious laughter filled the night's air. Byleth's blood ran cold when several masked men stepped out of the shadows. As best as she could she stood in front of him and tried to block their view of him.

Instinctively she reached for the sword that was usually at her side, only to disappointedly remember that it was next to her tools that were just a few feet away. She clenched her fists tightly as she bit back a curse. As discreetly as she could she tried to push Ashe back but stopped when the laughter grew louder.

Slowly the masked man approached. Even without a weapon she still got into a defensive stance. She began to channel magic into her left hand but stopped when her vision began to blur. Despite her best efforts to not show her alarm, a roar of laughter rang out when she stumbled a little.

"How's that poison treating ya?" asked one of the men and she glared at all of them.

Ashe screamed out his shock, but she ignored him as she went back to channeling her magic. The two archers, in the group, raised their bows and she instinctively took a step back. With a simple nod, from the leader, the archers' released their arrows.

Throwing her calm to the wind, she released her stored magic in a burst of fire. The spell managed to incinerate one of the arrows but the other still managed to cut into her arm. She wasted no time in forcing Ashe onto his feet and shoving him away. All his complaints fell on deaf ears and she returned her entire focus onto the threat.

Somewhat satisfied with Ashe's situation Byleth rushed forward, determined to end the battle as quickly as possible. She gave her enemies no other chances to prepare their arrows as she casted Bolanone. While the spell didn't manage to kill any of them it did succeed in separating them at the very least.

She didn't let up on her attack and rushed forward. From the confusion of her spell, two of the men, had broken away from the rest and they became her targets. The men were barely able to get their bearings before they were blasted with a Thunder spell.

Despite her sense of balance being thrown off she managed to reach her targets quickly. Her punch lacked the power, it would normally wield, but it still succeeded in knocking one of the men down and allowing her the chance to stab the other with her dagger in his windpipe, effectively removing him from the fight. The surge of confidence that normally came with a little victory never came as she struggled to not fall with the momentum she used to strike with her dagger.

It was never her intentions to hover over the two men, but she was struggling to find her sense of balance. Her vision blurred greatly as she desperately tried to face her next opponent and she found her movements to be wider than necessary. Right when she was ready to move onto her next offensive an arrow pierced her upper chest, causing her to stumble back. It took everything she had to keep herself from falling over.

Ashe's scream was cut short and forgetting everything she jerked her head towards his direction. A wave of dizziness accompanied her actions and she nearly toppled over because of it. It took much longer than she would have liked before she was able to look at him, or at least the silhouette version that she was sure was of him.

Even though it was incredibly difficult to make out she was sure she could tell that a knife was being pressed against his throat. Her cool gave away to a curse as she tried to focus on the man that held Ashe. Her head throbbed from the effort, but she was at least able to make out that a masked covered the man's entire face, but she could still feel the sick smirk that the man was giving her.

She wasn't able to spit out her threat before a punch, to her face, had knocked her to the ground, to which another cry from Ashe was cut short. She glared up at the man that hit her and struggled to see a clear image of him. "That's for the punch you gave me," said the man, she had struck earlier. His masked only covered the top half of his face so his sneer was on full display. "It's only fair that I return the favor, right?"

She shifted around to get up only for him to slam his foot down onto her stomach. Despite her wishes she cried out a little. "Nuh-uh," the man laughed as he wagged a finger in the air. Her glare was cut short when the man pointed his finger at Ashe. "Don't you think that you shouldn't be doing anything that we might proceed as a threat, hm?" All at once her fire left her as she stared at the blurred image of Ashe.

"Professor!" the young archer cried out before it was cut short with a threat. She didn't respond to the cry, as she wasn't given the chance as the man placed more of his weight onto his foot. The words of comfort she wanted to share were lost to the wind as she gasped for air.

She could hear Ashe's struggle and yet she didn't know if she should move or not. Her student's words of assurance that he would be fine, were still not enough to motivate her. It wasn't' until she heard a particularly powerful strike and threat that she decided to act. Grabbing the man's leg, she channeled her magic into it, and he screamed out.

As soon as the man stepped away from her, she got onto her feet, only to drop to her knees soon after. Her legs felt incredibly weak and she realized that her vision was too far gone now to be relied upon. That didn't stop her as she once again got onto her feet and glared at the hazy figures before her.

She wanted to act, to strike the man that dared to hurt her student but moving was impossible and she bitterly accepted that. She just hoped that now with her standing, she would be seen as the greater threat. The curses that followed her actions had brought her some comfort, in knowing that she angered them enough to be their focus.

What she was sure was the outline of a man shifted before her and she closed her eyes in attempt to brace for an impact. The strike never came as a new shout rang out in their little area, followed by threats she recognized very well. She opened her eyes in hopes of seeing her father, but she was unable to make out anything, but that was okay because she knew that she and Ashe were safe now.

A gentle touch on her shoulder had her on edge before she heard Ashe's soft voice, "professor are you alright?" She wanted to ask the same to him but without a way to confirm it, she knew that she would just be fed a lie, so she didn't say anything.

Her silence wasn't welcomed as she felt his touch turn into a tight grip. "In my bag," she started, and he greatly relaxed because of it, "there is an antitoxin. Can you please bring it to me?" She could tell that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of leaving her alone by the hesitation from his touch. She gave the hand that was on her shoulder, a small pat as that was the only thing, she was sure she could do at that moment that wouldn't alarm him. "My father won't let anyone else come near me, so please get me the toxin."

He didn't say anything, but she was sure he gave her a small nod before he left her. The sounds of battle and her father's anger rang loud and it brought her some comfort. She wished she could help but she knew that not only would she just get in the way, but that he didn't need it.

It didn't take long for Ashe to return with her bag in hand, because in his panic he wasn't sure what was the antitoxin. The cool but disgusting liquid of the antitoxin slide down her throat and she had to swallow the urge to cough it back up. It would take some time for the healing tonic to completely rid her body of the poison, but she could already feel some of the affects happening.

With one loud curse, Byleth could tell that the battle had ended. Her vision was still greatly diminished but she could at least make out her father's image as he kneeled before her. Relief flood both of them when she confirmed that she would be fine.

With that little comfort, her father wasted no time, in packing up camp after ordering Ashe to stay by her side. She had no time to wallow in pity as Ashe had been constantly bombarding her with questions as his way to ensure that she was indeed going to be okay. When her vision cleared up enough that she could see his head, she gave it a good pat in order to get him to stop with his questions.

She thought her petting would help lighten the mood a little, but it only seemed to make everything worse as he hung his head. She removed her hand in hopes of getting him to speak but he was silent. Eventually, she moved to patting his back.

"I'm sorry," he finally spoke, "if it wasn't for me-" She didn't give him a chance to finish before smacking him hard on the back. He squeaked a little yelp but said no more.

"Ashe, I should be the one apologizing," she said. She couldn't tell if he was going to interject or not, but she spoke quickly again just in case. "Those people have always been attacking me. I am so terribly sorry for putting you in danger."

"You have nothing to apologize about!" Ashe's shout reverberated in her head, antagonizing the headache that was already forming. "It's because of me that you-"

Her vision had now cleared enough that she was able to make out his face and so she squeezed his cheeks in order to silence him. "They are after me and because of that you were attacked." There was little he could say or do with her still squeezing his face and for that she continued to do so. "I am terribly sorry. I should have known better. I should have had someone more dependable to escort you."

Ashe gently pulled her hands away and she didn't have the strength or will to fight him. "Professor, you have done nothing wrong!" Her eyes widen for a moment before she hung her head. The rest of his words were drowned out to her thoughts. If what he said was true, then why was she always being punished?

* * *

A/N: So, given how my last two chapters have been going, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with the weekly uploads. I apologize but I'm just going to upload when I can instead. I liked doing the weakly uploads, but I will admit that they were also very stressful. I am sorry I'll try to have faster updates than this long gap but I'm not going to make any promises.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Thank you to everyone that wished me well. I would like to say that I am doing a lot better, but I still have one major issue looming over my head so bear with me on the sparce updates.

On a more positive note, I think I finally got over my writer's block as such of this chapter came easy to me, though the second half gave me a bit difficulty.

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon 1180:**

**Twenty-first of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Thanks to the attack Jeralt had pushed the group to keep traveling and so they arrived at Garreg Mach a night sooner. Byleth felt a bitter sweetness to be back in Garreg Mach. On the one hand she knew she would be safe but on the other she felt like she had returned to the lion's den. She hid her discomfort behind her blank expression in an attempt to at least bring some comfort to Ashe and her father that were still on edge.

Jeralt took over the duties of alerting the church officials of their return so that she could escort Ashe to his room. Despite his alarm and concern Byleth managed to get the boy to promise that he would never mention the ambush. Though he promised, the look in his eyes were hesitant and so she wouldn't be surprised if he did tell someone; she could at least tell that he would only do so out of genuine concern for her.

It took a bit of assurance to convince the boy that she was alright and that he could go into his room. While he needed his own assurance, Byleth needed her own and it made it difficult to hold herself back when the door closed. She didn't care about what had happened to her, she had already gotten used to it, but seeing those she cared for die, was something that greatly troubled her and that she hoped she would never get used too. Sothis' power was a blessing, and the former mercenary was sure many would agree if they knew about it but to her it was also a curse as it didn't allow her to escape from the nightmares. At night when she would awaken from such a fright, she would darkly wonder if maybe it would be best if they had died so that she could move on, though she would quickly admit that was something she didn't want.

She stared at Ashes' door for a few more seconds, still not ready to leave. Ashe's second death was still fresh in her mind, and so she knew sleep would be avoiding her; or was it her that was avoiding it? Either way, she wasn't ready to return to her room. Slowly her gaze drifted upwards to stare at the second story and discovered that there were still a few rooms with some light on, and one held a particular interest for her. Before she realized what she was doing, she had already started walking towards the stairs that led to the second floor.

The night was quiet, but it brought some comfort as she walked down the hall. As she passed Claude's room, she had thought about stopping to let him know she was back, but quickly decided against it as she wanted to see Dimitri as soon as possible. The strong desire to see the prince wasn't just for her peace of mind but because she wanted to act upon her father's and Sothis' advice as soon as possible.

It didn't take her long to arrive at Dimitri's room. All the pain and frustration that her little trip to Castle Rowe built up melted away at the thought of returning things to the way they used to be with her childhood friend. Her fingers itched with anticipation and she wasted no time on knocking.

He was slow to open the door and she was a bit worried that she had awoken him, but still her excitement had her unable to stop herself. She felt a calming warmth spread in her chest as she stared into blue eyes. A little smile grew on her face as those eyes, she loved so much, focused on her.

"By…leth?" Dimitri quietly mumbled and she gave him a small nod. Nothing else was said by the prince as he stared at her. She wasn't daunted and was simply happy that he was looking at her.

"May I come in?" she finally asked, and it seemed to have taken him a second to register what she said before he slowly stepped aside and the confusion still never left his face.

The smile momentarily left her face when she saw the state of his room. As far as messes went she had seen far worse (nothing would ever beat Claude's room back at Riegan Manor) and yet to see any disorder from the prince's things was surprising but she quickly realized that she should have expected that. Her little smile returned as she turned around to face him.

The shock that had held him captive earlier was gone as he now looked away from her with the frown that she had become accustomed to as of late. Her smile became strained, but she didn't allow it to vanish. Doing her best to hide her feeling she walked over to him, but he never looked at her or even in her direction.

She stood before him and yet he continued to refuse to look at her. Her smile became even more difficult to maintain but she did not faulter. The air around the prince felt heavy and she struggled with what she should do next.

Byleth reached out to touch him but her arm didn't make it far before it fell back to her side. She stared at him, hoping that he would look at her or at least make some sort of gesture acknowledging her, but he never did. Her father's words echoed in her mind and with a deep breath she found her resolve.

"Aster," she called softly. While he did not respond, he did flinch a little, to which she ignored. Unsure of how to continue she looked up at him as if the answer would just magically appear for her.

Biting her lower lip her fingers gripped the sides of her pants as she struggled with what to say. Comforting had never been her specialty and while that had bothered her in the past, she had never really hated her inability until that moment. Her mind raced with words to say and yet none of them felt right.

Actions speak louder than words that had always been a belief that she held and so she would trust that belief. Thanks to her frustrations she gave the prince no warning as she threw her arms around him. Upon her touch he went rigid and she didn't care as she continued to hold him.

"Aster, I am here," she whispered. "You are not alone." He flinched but she didn't stop. "I want to help. Please, you can rely on me."

At first, he was as stiff as a board but when she finished what she was saying he relaxed greatly. It wasn't long after that he returned her embrace, though his grip was much stronger. A small smile came to her when he buried his face into her neck.

"I am here," she repeated in her soft tone, and his grip increased.

Humming softly, she rubbed circles on his back. The tension slowly left his body and she hummed louder in response. She felt so at ease in his arms, it was like all her problems were nothing and everything was alright with the world.

So at peace, she found herself slowly drifting off as her exhaustion started to catch up to her, but that all changed when Dimitri's whole body went suddenly rigid. She called his name gently, but he never responded. His grip was strong, but she managed to loosen herself enough so that she could see his face. With wide eyes he was staring at something but from what little she could see over her shoulder there was nothing there.

Once again, she called his name softly and that seemed to bring him back to his senses. His grip on her slowly slipped away until his arms hung limply at his side. He dropped his head to the point that his bangs shielded his face from her gaze. She wanted to reach out to him and hold him so that their connections wouldn't break but her arms felt like lead.

"Please leave," his voice was so quiet that she was barely able to hear it and yet it echoed inside her mind. She wanted to shout at him, but her voice was lost but she found the strength to reach out to him only for him to avoid her touch. "Please…" His plea was nothing more than a hush whisper but it pierced her chest with all the might of a powerful arrow.

Her arms that hung in the air dropped to her sides as she stared at the man that refused to look at her. Balling her fists tightly her stare turned into a glare. She wanted to scream at him and demanded answers, but the words were stuck in her throat from the lump that had formed. With blurred vision she rushed out of his room and had barely enough sense to not slam the door, though the temptation to do so was incredible.

Her mind and emotions were a jumbled mess, and she had no idea how to sort any of it. Sothis awoke to the unstableness that was Byleth's heart and mind but nothing the mysterious girl said could help. The professor wanted an explanation or a solution, just something that could possibly help, but the only one who could give her any of that was so determined to push her away.

She did not know how long, nor did she care, for how long she stood in front of Dimitri's room glaring a hole into the floor. Her surroundings never crossed her mind until she felt a touch on her shoulder, and she jumped. Her head snapped up to stare at the person, who had dared to disturb her, Sylvain. No thoughts came to her as she stared into his concern eyes. All at once all her inner turmoil left and she collapsed into Sylvain's chest with no warning.

"By, what is wrong?" Sylvain asked in the gentlest tone she had ever heard from him before. Despite what Dimitri was doing to her, it did feel nice to know that at least one of her childhood friends had still cared about her, even if she never doubted Ingrid or Felix.

Apart of her knew that she should separate herself from Sylvain and yet she wanted another's warmth; to know that she was in fact awake and not trapped in a nightmare. She didn't answer his question and instead buried her face into his chest. An overly floral scent bombarded her nose that reminded her of the noble ladies that would wear too much perfume. It was a scent she didn't think suited Sylvain, but she never said anything about it.

"Did His Highness do something?" His tone was much too dark for her liking and her head shot up to look at him. Despite him wearing a fierce expression (something she believed that didn't suit him at all), his eyes were clear, and she felt a great relief wash over her.

With that relief she found the strength to leave his warmth, though he seemed to be reluctant to let her go as his grip on her was somewhat strong. He did not let her go complete and still held onto her arms in a weak grip. The two stared at each other for a long moment, neither one saying anything.

She was the first to break eye contact to stare at the wall. Not wanting to worry Sylvain anymore she turned to face him but didn't really feel like putting up an act for him. She wanted to give him a smile and put whatever speculations he had to rest but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't muster up a fake smile. All she could do was her usual blank expression and she hoped that would be enough for him, but she knew it wouldn't be.

He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before he slightly shook his head. He was able to flash her the smile that she couldn't, and that helped to bring out a small one from her. Without saying anything he held out a hand towards her and she looked at it for a second before glancing up at him.

"Since you are back, we need to celebrate your return!" he said with a little wink. Cocking her head to the side she watched him for a bit. While she wouldn't say no to a celebration, she couldn't help but think it was too late at night for one. He said nothing else and grabbed her hand. The smile, he wore, had her unable to turn him down as he began to lead her away.

Right when they got to Felix's door, she stopped to point at it. "We will have a proper celebration tomorrow but for now it will just be you and me." He gave her another wink and again she cocked her head, but she said nothing, as she understood it was late.

"You were going to go out and not invite me?" a new voiced asked and Sylvain spun on his heels to face the intruder. Looking pass Sylvain, she was able to see that Claude's door was open and he was standing there with a mischievous smile. It was only at that moment that she realized that Sylvain didn't come out of his room.

"Sorry, but it is just going to be the two of us." The normally aloof tone that Sylvain used was a bit flat. As if to emphasize his point he held up the hand that was holding hers and Claude's gaze narrowed on them, but his smile remained.

Tugging on the taller man's hand, Byleth waited until he looked at her. "Meadow is already awake and ready. It should be okay to invite him, right?" she asked, and his smile became strained.

"Yeah, you do not have to worry about disturbing me since I am ready," Claude said as made his way over to them and got close to Sylvain, who's smile had fallen at this point. "The more the merrier, right?" The Golden Deer's leader's gaze shifted to Sylvain and his smile became smugger.

Sylvain wore a scowl as he glared at the younger man, but his gaze was pulled away when Byleth pulled at his hand again. She looked up at him with such innocent eyes that he was struggling to maintain a scowl. When she finally pleaded to let Claude join them, he relented with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head.

It took him a bit of a moment, but his smile returned, and it was a genuine one that made her feel at ease. "If that is what you want, how can I refuse?" At his words she flashed him a smile and he squeezed her hand in return.

"Now that that is settled, where are we going?" Claude ask as he casually made his way over to Byleth's free side and took her other hand, to which she didn't bat an eye at. Once again Sylvain's smile became strained as he looked at the other man.

With a little, warning glare Sylvain turned away from them and began to lead the way before he spoke, "I was thinking about going out to drink."

She stopped in her tracks and both men turned to look at her. She looked and the floor between them, not really wanting to be the one to ruin their fun. "I shouldn't," she said a bit weakly. "After last time…"

"You will have us to protect you," Claude said with a smile as he gave her hand a small squeeze, bring her attention to him.

"We shall make sure nothing bad happens," Sylvain added with a wink.

She stared at the two men unsure of what to say. While she did feel safer with those two than Wil, she still didn't know their limits nor if she could really count on them if they became tipsy. There was also the threat that she could be attacked, and she didn't want to put any more people in danger. Despite them assuring her that everything would be okay, her legs felt like lead and she couldn't move.

"Just go!" Sothis demanded. "It will take your mind off of things." Byleth wanted to object but the mysterious girl wouldn't allow it. "You know your limits now so just be mindful of that and there is no way the cunning wretches would be foolish enough to attack you in a large group with a bunch of knights around. Everything will be fine, trust me."

Sothis made such good points that Byleth couldn't argue but she still wasn't sure if she should go or not. Looking up at the men again she found it difficult to turn them down when they were giving her such hopeful looks. With a bit more nudging from Sothis, the professor nearly agreed to go until she remembered one crucial fact.

"You both are students," she said as if she just discovered that fact right then and there. While they were both old enough to drink, Garreg Mach had strictly forbade students from drinking.

"I will not tell if you do not," both said in unison. The two men gave each other a glare which caused her to giggle. And just like that she found her resolve to deny them defeated.

* * *

Sylvain and Claude took Byleth to the only tavern in town. Since it was the only one it was constantly frequented by knights and neither of the two students seemed to care, even though they were both well known. With how calm they were, she got the feeling that they had come to the tavern often; in fact, by the way the waitress reacted earlier to seeing Sylvain Byleth suspected that he had been there earlier that night.

The professor's gaze drifted away from the smiling faces of her friends that sat in front of her to look at the two drinks before her. On the way over she had stated that she would only have one drink, to which she assumed both men interrupted it as one drink from each of them. She made no move to take either drink and instead went back to looking at the men. She was sure if Seteth saw her right then and there, it would be a never-ending lecture as he would have so much fuel to work with.

"I am sure the more refined taste of gin will suit your taste best," Sylvain said with a little smile as he rested his head on one of his hands, watching her carefully.

"No way, the spices from mead will surely suit By best," Claude said as he mirrored Sylvain's stance.

She spied the small glare that Sylvain gave Claude before her gaze drifted back down towards the drinks. Thanks to her circumstances she was never an avid drinker as her father and so she only ever drank what her father drank and with how much he could drink he never liked spending to much money on the more expensive alcohols. Absentmindedly, she listened to the two men argue about what was the superior alcoholic drink, an argument she had little interest in.

Tired of staring at the drinks she returned her sights back onto her friends, who stopped their argument to go back to watching her. "I prefer ale," she said in her normal matter-of-fact tone. Almost instantly both men gave her a look that annoyingly screamed, "of course you do", she couldn't help but feel irritated at the look.

"That is just such…," Claude said and glanced at Sylvain, who seemed to be on the same wavelength as he gave a small bob of his head. "…a typical mercenary drink of choice." With a little frown she glared at them. What was wrong with that? She was a former mercenary so shouldn't that make sense that she would prefer that? Sothis chuckled in the back of Byleth's mind, only adding more to the professor's annoyance.

"Come on By!" Sylvain started and pulled her attention to him. "Live a little and have some good alcohol!"

"Once you have mead there is no way you will go back to plain, old ale."

"No, it will be the gin that convinces her!"

The two men gave each other a small glare, but she wasn't interested in it. Once again, her gaze returned to her drinks, it was weird to her to not see a heavy amount of foam on her drinks. When she reached for one of the glasses, she felt the intense gaze from her friends, and she froze. She peaked at them from beneath her bangs and the expectant gleam in their eyes had her unable to move.

Sothis' laugh rang out in Byleth's mind and the troubled woman frowned. Reaching out for a drink again only made the pressure greater and once again she froze. The frown she wore didn't bother the men at all nor did the glare she sent them later, in fact, it only seemed to have encouraged them which frustrated her more.

Done with their shenanigans she grabbed the gin because she thought it would be best to get the more alcoholic drink out of the way. Sylvain shouted a trumpet "yes", while Claude pouted and at that point she didn't care anymore. When Sylvain's gloating extended to him wrapping an arm around Claude's shoulder, who in turn stuck his tongue out at the older man, she decided to just down the drink in one go and spare her anymore of their childish antics.

The gin may have had a smoother taste than ale, but it burned on the way down all the same. The last time she was at that tavern she was drinking to escape but this time she was there for more joyful reason and she was sure that was the reason why the drink left her feeling good. When the last of her drink was gone, she placed the glass back down on the table and she instantly regretted finishing off the drink so quickly.

Sylvain's complaint of her not fully appreciating the gin by drinking it like that fell on deaf ears when she spied the sparkle in Claude's eye. The Alliance heir grabbed their attentions by leaning forward and rested his head on his hands. A smug, little grin grew on his face and Sylvain's cheer came to a screeching halt.

"By," Claude practically sang, and the ginger haired man's smile slowly morphed into a frown. "Do you remember that thing you asked me to look into before you left?" She cocked her head to the side, not really remembering what he was talking about nor why he randomly brought it up. "You remember right?" She arched an eyebrow. "That thing that you asked me and only me to do?" Sylvain's frown turned into a full-blown scowl when recognition flashed in her eyes.

* * *

The night passed on merrily to the point that both Sylvain and Claude might have overindulged in drinking; Byleth had stuck to her two drinks despite the men's insistence. It was up to the professor to guide the students back to their dorms as they clung to her because of their inability to walk properly. She kept her complaints to a minimum and instead wore a smile all throughout their walk back.

The little drinking expedition didn't go as Sylvain had planned but it did succeed in cheering Byleth up, so he couldn't complain, or at least he couldn't complain as much. Claude had been an unexpected annoyance and if anyone else had asked to join them, the older man would have been okay with it but because he couldn't read the Alliance heir or knew what the boy's intentions were towards Byleth, Sylvain couldn't help but be on guard the entire time. Byleth's complete and utter trust in Claude only made everything worse for Sylvain.

Sylvain always believed that if Byleth had problems she would have come to her childhood friends before going to see anyone else (besides her father), but that night proved him wrong. She had sought out Claude about her suspicions about the perceived assassination attempt; she never mentioned it to him at all despite him having the same suspicions, though he knew it was because he never voiced his, it didn't make the bitterness any less strong. He wanted her to rely on him and their friends more but bitterly seeing how much trust she had for Claude made him realize he wasn't deserving.

For all the criticisms he threw at Dimitri for not helping her, he realized he was the same. He also only watched her suffer and it was only when she started to feel better that he started to help. He was nothing more than a hypocrite and that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Despite all that he still wanted her to rely on him and he didn't want her getting too close to Claude, as he didn't trust the Golden Deer's leader completely. Claude might have been all smiles, but Sylvain knew that it was all to keep people at a distance, after all he was doing the exact same thing. And so, Sylvain just couldn't trust Claude, even when he saw those barriers that the younger man erected start to crumble slightly when he was with Byleth, it didn't change his feelings. She was able to see through him and so deep down within Sylvain he had no doubt that she had been able to do the same for Claude but still it didn't sit right with him, and he realized that just made him a bigger hypocrite but he didn't care.

Thanks to both men clinging onto her the walk over to the dorms had been slow and difficult. On the walk over Sylvain had sobered up enough and could walk on his own but because Claude wouldn't let go of her arm, he refused to do the same. He couldn't tell if it was because Claude still hadn't sobered up yet or if the Alliance heir was thinking the same as him. He got his answers when they arrived at the dorms' stairway that was too narrow for them to continue as they were. The small glance Claude had given him, had singled for a truce and the both of them had released her at the same time. They both played innocent at Byleth's confusion.

The Gautier heir had expected Claude to put up some kind of resistance when they got to his room, but he never did and wished them a good night rather quickly. The Golden Deer leader continued to prove to be a great mystery to Sylvain. Sylvain almost didn't believe that Claude was going to leave them alone and half expected for the younger man to pop out and interrupt them at any moment, but he never did.

When they passed Dimitri's room, he had expected for Byleth's gaze to linger on the prince's door but all she did was give it a quick glare. The glare didn't last long before it morphed into a frown as her gaze dropped to the floor. Many of her expressions were still small and almost unnoticeable and even he still had a difficult time reading some of them and because of that he wasn't sure if his suspicions were right.

Before they could reach his door, he swiftly walked in front of her so that he could stop her. She looked up at him with a blank expression that was weakening his confidence. He gave her a smile, more to boost his resolve than to calm her, as he knew she wouldn't reach much to it.

"You know," he started but he could already feel his confidence wanning, "you are allowed to be angry at His Highness."

Her eyes widen before her gaze shifted to the floor. A silence settled over them as she continued to stare at the ground clearly lost in thought. As if finding an answer, she looked up at him with such quivering eyes that he almost didn't believe that they belonged to her. He had seen her exhausted, unsure, and even a little sad, but he had never seen her so vulnerable and it left him speechless.

"Is it…," her soft voice broke him out of her thoughts, "is it really okay for me to be angry?"

His eyes widen for a moment, before his features relaxed into a genuine, soft smile. The Byleth of his childhood was so incredibly strong, kind, but intimidating in a way that his father or brother could never hope to imitate. His younger self would never admit it, but he was afraid of how inhumane her younger self was, but the Byleth before him was most definitely human and that little dormant fear was finally put to rest.

"Yes," he answered just as quietly as she spoke, but his voice gradually grew louder with each following word. "I do not know why His Highness is pushing us away, but I do know that it is unfair." Her gaze momentarily drifted away but his voice brought it back to him. "But I do know that he is being the most unfair with you. You have more right than anyone to be angry."

Once again, her gaze dropped, and he was silent as he watched her work through her thoughts. It was a few seconds before she seemed to have found her answers as she gave herself a little nod. When she looked back at him, she was sporting a smile and it seemed like the weight that had been weighing her down, since he found her that night, was finally lifted.

"I…I think I will be angry," she said with a tiny bob of her head. He smiled as he patted her head and chuckled when she gave him a small pout.

While she occupied much of his attention from the corner of his eyes, he could see the door to Dimitri's room open slightly. The two men locked eyes for a moment and a smirk grew on Sylvain's face. The prince's face was obscured by the shadows so all Sylvain could do was hope that his dear friend was nervous.

The playboy brought his attention back to Byleth and was pleasantly surprised to discover that she seemed to be unaware of the prince. When they were kids, she was always on guard, which made it almost impossible for anyone to sneak up on her and he was a bit disappointed to see that she was still the same after their reunion, but to see her so relaxed and unaware brought him great joy. He didn't know if it was because she felt safe around him or what, but the reason didn't really matter just so long as she felt comfortable enough to let her guard down.

Grabbing a few strands of her hair he brought it up to his lips, watching her unwavering expression with a bit of humor. Her hair wasn't as soft as any of the other women's he flirted with but he knew that such a detail was unimportant to her, especially during travel, and it didn't bother him; it just furthered reminded him just how unique she was. Rubbing his thumb over her hair, he marveled at the unique color she possessed he was also trying to draw out more of Dimitri's jealousy, even if he couldn't see the other man's face.

Once again, his eyes locked with the onlooker's and he wished he could see his friend's face, to see how much he must hate to see another man getting so close to his precious Byleth. With eyes still locked Sylvain brought the strands of hair up to his lips and placed a chastise kiss upon them. Being unable to see the prince's face he could only imagine the anger that Dimitri had to be feeling.

Still holding onto her hair, he turned his attention back onto his professor, who seemed to be none the wiser to the little showboating he just did. Pleased at her ignorance he gave her a little smile and she returned it. The strands of hair slipped through his fingers and yet he didn't feel like his lost anything.

Byleth was so many things; she was incredibly strong, fierce, caring, and so much more and he truly felt so proud to know such an amazing person. In the four years that they were separated, Sylvain couldn't imagine what difficulties she had to face during that time and yet her eyes were just as clear and innocent like he remembered. In that regard she was nothing like her old friends. Felix's eyes had become sharp and ferocious, Ingrid's lost the confident sparkle, his had become hollow, and Dimitri's…he wasn't sure how to describe Dimitri's. They all needed a guiding light to help bring them out of the darkness and Sylvain knew that Byleth would be the one to do so but a guiding lighting was useless if the person didn't follow it.

His genuine smile took on a more devilish look as he leaned forward so that he could bring his face closer to hers. It took a lot of effort for him to not snort through his nose when he unsurprisingly discovered that she didn't react at all. Now he understood why Dimitri had made so little progress, when he wasn't distancing himself, and the flirt wanted to laugh at himself for not realizing it sooner.

"Byleth," he said her name as seductively as he could and besides a raised eyebrow, he got no reaction. "Thank you for tonight. I had a marvelous time. I will look forward to our next date." He said the last part while looking in Dimitri's direction.

The door to the prince's room shut suddenly, momentarily pulling Byleth's attention away, but her gaze didn't remain on it for long. When she brought her stare back to him there wasn't even a hint in her eyes that let him know that she was even remotely aware of what he was doing. He struggled to not laugh at her innocence. When it came to women, the overly innocent ones annoyed him as he could never accept such cluelessness as being real, but not only did he believe Byleth's it was an aspect of hers that he greatly appreciated.

"You're welcome," she cheerfully said, and it brought a warmth to him he so rarely felt as of late. "But why are you thanking me? You're the one that invited me out. Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?"

Finally, he let out the chuckle that he had been holding in as he patted her head. Pouting, she reminded him that head pats were her thing and he just had to do it again after hearing that. He didn't know how she did it, and truth be told he never cared to find out, but she always found a way to make him feel at peace, to make him believe that everything would be okay. He had no doubt that she would be able to bring Dimitri down the right path as well as help their other friends find theirs. He would always be grateful to have her in his life.

**Twenty-fourth of the Blue Sea Moon:**

Claude's birthday was something that Byleth was supposed to be incredibly excited for and she was, just not to the extent that she had wanted to be. When she first learned that she would be staying in Garreg Mach, she had thought she would be getting excited for a month in advance and would have so much time to work on gifts, but unfortunately, she hadn't been able to do so. But now that it was Claude's birthday, all her worries had been forgotten.

Not wanting to interrupt, like she did for Edelgard's birthday, she had decided to wait until after the Golden Deer had their party to give Claude her gift. She was perfectly fine with waiting, but the Golden Deer had other plans and Hilda had personally took up the task to escort Byleth to the party (though the girl did complain the whole way over). On the way over, Byleth couldn't contain her smile. She hadn't realized until that day that she was afraid that Claude might reject her like Edelgard did.

Given some of the Golden Deer's preference to food a "feast" was held in Claude's honor, or at least that was what the Golden Deer elected to call their larger than normal portions of food. The celebrations were open to all students but apart from a few greetings or gifts being dropped off no one besides Byleth joined in; though Ashe did stay around for a bit to talk to Marianne.

Despite not being too familiar with the Golden Deer students they made sure to make sure she felt included and for that she was grateful. For a day, she forgot all about her troubles and worries and was just able to have fun. She would make sure to let Claude know how much she appreciated being given such an opportunity.

While everyone ate there was a little lull in the festivities and that gave Marianne some time to talk to Byleth. "Professor," Marianne called right when the older woman took a bit of food and faced the girl with her mouth full. "I-I am sorry for disturbing you." Byleth wanted to argue that statement but was too busy trying to quickly swallow. "I-I will come back!" Marianne was about to scurry away when Byleth's mouth was finally free of food and she was able to call out the girl and get her to stay. With a little bit of prompting and assurance that the professor wasn't bothered, Marianne finally said what she wanted to say. "I…I just wanted to thank you for helping Ashe. He…he seems much happier now."

A small smile formed as Byleth reached out to pat Marianne's head but stopped when she realized her fingers weren't the cleanest. "It is I, who should be thanking you," Byleth said. For a brief moment the student's head shot up to look at her before her gaze quickly dropped but not before a noticeable blush was seen.

"Oh no," Marianne started to mumble, "I-I did not do anything."

"No, you did everything." Once again, the younger woman looked up. "You helped break through my haze and helped me see what Ashe really needed." Marianne's eyes widen slightly. "Thank you for helping Ashe."

The quiet woman dropped her gaze again but Byleth could tell that the girl wasn't doing it to hide her herself but because she was lost in thought. "I…helped someone…?" Marianne mumbled quietly and the professor silently watched with a smile on her face.

* * *

Claude's birthday celebration had been one the best moments Byleth's ever had since coming to Garreg Mach but unfortunately all good things must come to an end and the little dinner was no different. After the dinner she had to return straight to her duties, but she did so with a smile, though it didn't last too long thanks to the incredibly long and dull meeting she had to have with Seteth afterwards.

With the Rite of Rebirth in two days Seteth thought it was apparent that all staff of the Officer Academy come together and plan out how the night will go. It was important so she couldn't complain too much but none of the church officials would entertain the thought that maybe the archbishop's life wasn't the intended target. Having to face their doubts she was glad that she had asked Claude to look into the matter before she left.

Sothis was easily able to drift off during the meeting leaving a jealous Byleth to stay attentive throughout the entire meeting, which was a great challenge. Even though she didn't really do much during the meeting she left feeling exhausted and she feared Seteth's voice would haunt her the rest of the night as it just wouldn't stop ringing in her head. The trek back to the dorms was long and by the time they were in sight she was ready to collapse on her bed.

A weary smile spread across her face as she was entering the dorm area only for it to immediately vanish when she spied someone on the roof. Instantly, her hand went to her dagger while her other began to channel magic until she noticed a yellow cloak that could only belong to one person. A slew of complaints spilled from her lips as she lowered her guard and felt even more exhausted.

She thought about playing ignorant and just pretending that she never saw him as she knew he liked to be in high places but as she turned away from him she reluctantly realized that if anyone else saw him he was going to get in a lot of trouble. Shouting at him would be dangerous as it would alert people to his presence as well as disturb all the good students. With a heavy sigh she went about trying to figure out how he got on the roof.

It took some time for her to figure out how to get up on the roof and she was sure it wasn't the way that Claude got up there since hers was a difficult path; she swore she was going to make him show her his path when she was done talking to him. Her exhaustion melted away as soon as she got on the roof and saw the wonderful view of the area outside of Garreg Mach. The gentle breeze felt so wonderful and being away from the close buildings made her feel free.

She marveled at the view for a moment before turning her sights on Claude. He wasn't enjoying the view like she thought he was and instead was starring down at the ornate hunting knife that Hilda had gifted him. Seeing him like that reminded her of all the times where she would have to hunt him down during her brief stay in the Riegan Manor.

"Meadow," she called when she had gotten close enough and instantly regretted doing so. Startled, he jumped slightly causing him to drop his knife and slide down the roof. It was thanks to her quick reflects that prevented the knife from falling off as well as grabbing him before he could slide even further down. "Sorry, I didn't think I would be able to sneak up on you." Even when he was in deep thought he had always been on guard in the pass and she wasn't sure if his lack of guard was a good thing or not.

"By?!" he shouted once he got situated. He gave his surrounding a quick look over and relaxed greatly when he discovered it was just her. His gaze returned to her and horror filled his eyes. "By! Your hand!"

With little concern she glanced down at her hand that had grabbed the knife and discovered that it was bleeding profusely. In her haste she had grabbed the blade which hadn't bothered her at the moment but now that she could see the blood dripping off the blade, she became acutely aware of the pain. He gave her little time to react before grabbing her hand and inspecting the wound after letting the knife drop, and luckily it got caught between two tiles and was unable to slide away.

"Geez By, you really need to learn how to take care of yourself!"

"I'm not the one, who threw a knife."

He gave her a small glare before ordering her to remove her necklace to which she obeyed without question. The comforting warmth of Faith magic soon enveloped her hand. It was a crude spell that still needed some refinement, but it did at least stop the bleeding, but it didn't stop him from pouting when it was clear that more needed to be done.

"Since when did you learn Faith magic?" she asked to distract him from trying to waste more magic to try and heal a wound that was beyond his skill level.

"Professor Hanneman said it would be a good idea if we all at least learned the basics of Faith magic." As he explained that he looked up at her, which gave her the opportunity to pull her hand back.

"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea. Should I add that to my lessons?"

"No way!" They locked eyes for a moment and a smirk grew on his face. "This is the Golden Deer's secret weapon! I will not allow you to steal it!"

With a little laugh she gave him a small shake of her head. The two shared a brief laugh before the mood grew dark thanks to Claude. He was completely silent as his sights turned away from her and settled on the bloody knife.

Without saying anything she sat down and waited for him to do the same, but he didn't. She followed his gaze to look at the knife for a moment and when he still didn't move, she took the knife and his eyes followed it. Still matching his silence, she wiped the blade clean of her blood the best she could with her tunic. It was such an overly ornate knife that she had suspected that it wouldn't have been of any practical use but now she thought differently after learning firsthand how sharp it was.

After a few more seconds passed he finally sat down next to her, but he kept his gaze forward. Carefully she handed him the knife, but it took him a moment before he took it. Now with the knife in hand he stared at it instead.

The silence stretched on as neither of them would say anything and she was beginning to worder if she should say something or just wait for him. Luckily for her it didn't take that much longer for him to break free from his thoughts. With a sigh he put the knife aside to look at her.

"By, what do you think of the Golden Deer students?"

"I think they are great. They are the most welcome and most willing to help class. The Alliance will be in good hands with future leaders like them, I think."

He gave her a little, half-hearted smirk. "So, do you regret not accepting to be our teacher?" His teasing didn't even last long enough for her to explain that she didn't get to choose who she taught. With another sigh he turned his sights back to looking at the forest that surrounded Garreg Mach. "They are great, huh?" He mumbled that so quietly that she wasn't even sure if it was meant for her to hear.

Unsure of what to do she went to her go to try and true method of getting attention by patting his head. It took a quite a bit of head pats before he looked at her. "What is wrong?" Was the only thing she could think to ask at that moment. His gaze dropped to look at the roof.

"They are great people, and I am lying to them." He fiddled with his hands instead of looking at her.

"Do you want to tell them the truth?"

Balling his hands tightly he continued to stare at them. "I cannot. They will surely despise me if they discovered what I am…"

"I doubt that but," she paused to pat his head, "maybe start with opening up a little more."

"Easier said than done," he mumbled bitterly.

With a small frown she stared at Claude. He once told her that friends were there to listen to each other's problems, and she was more than happy to listen, but she knew that wouldn't be enough. A professor needed to provide guidance and advice, areas she was still struggling with when it didn't pretrain to just battle. A small scowl decorated her face when she discovered just how useless she was at that moment.

Still not sure of what to say or do she followed Claude's gaze to stare at the vast wilderness before them. No advice still came to her and Sothis was asleep so she couldn't rely on the mysterious girl for advice. The silence grew until Byleth remembered a gesture that Claude had once used to comfort her.

Without warning she started to rub circles onto his back. With wide eyes he jumped and stared at her with a fear she didn't understand. Right when she was about to pull her hand back, recognition flashed in his eyes and he relaxed a little. Her hand rested on his back unsure of what to do next.

"Maybe," she stared though she had no real thought to continue with but when he looked at her, she knew she had no other choice but to finish it somehow. "Maybe…start with opening up just a little to Hilda?" His eyes widen slightly. "You two are cute together so I think it will be an easier start…yes?"

With slight red checks, his eyes narrowed into a pointed stare. "What do you mean by cute?" he asked in a flat tone.

"I mean you two get along greatly and always seem to have fun together. You are best friends, right?" Her voice lost a bit of confidence at the end when his stare didn't change.

"Best friends?"

"…yes…?" She almost didn't want to answer him and when he broke out laughing afterwards didn't help her confidence.

She might have not known why he started laughing but she could at least tell that he was laughing at her expense and so a light blush dusted her cheeks along with a pout. The longer he laughed the lighter the mood became, and her little pout soon melted into a smile as she watched him. His little fit only came to an end when he started to gasp for air and even then, it persisted a bit more.

With a deep breath he looked at her with a large smile and it seemed like his small bout of depression was a thing of the pass. "I really needed that," he said as he wiped away a stray tear. The two stared at each other for a second before he snorted and had to look away once again, and she started to sport a tiny frown because of it.

The mood around them shifted into more a solemn one, though it was still much lighter than the earlier one. He still retained his smile, though it was a more neutral one as he looked up at the sky. She said nothing as she followed his sights. Silently, he pointed out a few constellations that he had once taught her.

"You are right," he said quietly and suddenly. She looked at him, but his gaze remained on the stars. "In order to achieve my goals, I will need to change. But…" he paused to look at her. "You do not need to change. In fact, do not ever change." She tilted her head slightly. "You are already perfect. I could not have asked for a better friend than you."

She wasn't entirely sure she what he meant but she smiled, nonetheless. "Happy Birthday Meadow." He gave her a smile, the genuine smile that she loved.

* * *

A/N: I finished up my third notebook for this story and I'm still not close to being done! How much more can I write?!

I hope after this I can start getting into the grove of things again and will be able to update more frequently, but I will still ask you guys to be a bit more patient with me. Thank you.

I know you guys want those sweet Dimleth moments and I want those too but we gotta wait a little longer because the boy is a difficult one.

Stay safe and healthy!


End file.
